[Slyfox]

So, you are telling me you all want me to be the mahdi?

[Sherman Logan]

A caliph is very different from the mahdi.

The caliph is the Successor of the Prophet. He exercises supreme religious and secular power over the Muslim people (umma). He is in theory to be selected by the umma. He is admitted to be only a man, and does not have any direct line to God. Since Mo was the last of the prophets, the caliph cannot produce any new revelations.

The mahdi is the Muslim equivalent of the returning Messiah. He is a supernatural figure.