The Islamic Republic of Iran puts the law of the state, represented by the Iranian government, above canonical Islamic law, usually referred to as the Sharia. Khomeini established this system to overcome a particular handicap within Shiism that had created several splits historically and to empower the state. In Shiism, the principle of authority is hereditary. It descends from Ali—the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad—through a family line of Imams. It could be argued that this family lineage was consolidated as a doctrine in response to the Umayyads consolidating hereditary power, although for Shias, this is a fundamental theological principle. Shias are divided into several branches, mainly Fivers (Zaydis), Seveners (Ismailis), and Twelvers, the latter being the largest group and the one on which the Iranian Republic is based. There are other, smaller denominations. The main reason for the successive splits was disagreement over the identity of the next Imam or leader.…