Besides, the Prophet had said there would be no more Messengers after him. If this was true, Ali’s charisma had no religious significance, in which case, shouldn’t Muslims separate the Prophet’s bloodline from leadership roles in the community to prevent undue concentrations of power from distorting the egalitarian universalism of the Islamic message? Seen in that light, in fact, wasn’t Ali’s charisma precisely the quality that made him questionable? Might it not encourage his more fervid partisans to declare him a new prophet?
