Middle East
When a mullah imitates Louis XIV
These days, Ali Khamenei must be a happy man. He has launched a campaign to cast himself as Imam , a title that Iranian Shiites reserve for the 12 descendants of Ali Ibn Abi-Talib, the fourth Caliph of Islam. By calling himself 'Imam', Khamenei hopes to put himself above grand Ayatollahs as the highest echelon of Shiite clergy.