[Scribus] Linux Font Editor?

[John Jordan]

<Slightly OT, but don't know any other place to ask.>

Are there any Linux font editors?

I may need something to make a font. A serious font for linguistics 
work (IPA characters, plus regular characters, plus typesetting 
features such as ligatures, various dashes, etc., so the font can be 
used for publishing books).

Fontlab seems to be the reigning monarch in the Win/Mac world. 
What is the best font editor currently available in the Linux world?