Caliphate or Imamate?
 

It is noteworthy that this same `Alawide, while talking about Abu Bakr, `Omer and `Othman, confused the concepts of Imamate with those of caliphate. So he talks about caliphate as if he is talking about Imamate. Refer to what he states on p. 111 where he says, “Not all the Muslims accepted them as the caliphs. Only the Sunnis did.”

This sentence means that the discussion was about Imamate, not caliphate, because their caliphate and government is a historical event which no Shi`a nor Sunnis person can deny. But the discussion and the argument revolved around the question “Was that government legitimate or not?” just as the discussion and the debate revolved around the Imamate of Ali (A.S.) where the government is one of its facets. So; the usurpation of the government is a transgression on some of the aspects of Ali’s Imamate.