9. From Supporters of the Caliph to Sworn Enemies
The Kharijites had supported Ali in his war against Muawaiya, but turned against him when he accepted arbitration. They viewed the Caliphate as the collective property of the Muslim community, not the private property of Ali. The Kharijites contended that Ali lacked the authority to make a decision about who gets to be Caliph. Election by the Muslim community was the sole legitimate process to bestow the Caliphate upon somebody, they argued, and the Muslim community had elected Ali. When Ali accepted arbitration to decide who would be Caliph, the Kharijites reasoned, he had overstepped his boundaries and usurped a power of decision that was not his to make. Ali ignored Kharijite objections, and went ahead with the arbitration. In hindsight, he probably regretted it. The arbitration turned into a fiasco, and neither settled the succession dispute nor produced a result other than to weaken Ali politically.
