He established himself at the top of the political pyramid as the faqih, or supreme leader. He stood above the political fray, as the final arbiter whose word was law. Although Islam has no papacy, Khomeini became a Pope-like figure and many Iranians regarded him as infallible. His critics, in contrast, saw the institution of faqih as a cloak for dictatorship. The second striking feature of the Iranian system is its factionalism.
Conservative clergy control the army and the police and wealthy religious foundations.
A more centrist faction under former President Hashemi Rafsanjani has, over the years, shifted its support from the conservatives to the reformists and back again. This means that, aside from the supreme leader, no single figure has been able to gain unchallenged power. And since Khomeini's death in 1989, even the role of the faqih has sometimes been questioned, since the current holder of the post, Ayatollah Khamenei, lacks his predecessor's authority and charisma. Competition between different centres of power is built into the system, which as a result is often baffling to outsiders. This raises the question of whether Iran is or is not a model for other Muslims to follow.