Can you go into the source and history of "Mahdi?"
I hope OBL doesn't read your article on FR.
In the end it doesn't matter whether OBL "is" the Mahdi of prophecy, or a faker latching onto the myth.
All that matters is that hundreds of millions of moslems believe he is the Mahdi, and will follow his orders like the Japanese obeyed the Emperor. That includes many of the "moderate" moslems in your town. If they believe it, then he "is" the Mahdi.
Don't worry about OBL's followers reading this on FR, OBL has been planning the last and next dozen moves for years and years, while we are still in denial that we are even at war with Islam!
"You may not be interested in war, but war is very intersted in you!" ~~Leon Trotsky
"You may not be interested in the Jihad, but the Jihad is very interested in you!" ~~Osama Bin Laden