[SevenMinusOne]

The only reason Zawahiri is putting out dead Bin Laden tapes are to show the world he’s a “prophet” and should be followed even if one can’t physically touch him.

It doesn't work that way on the Muslim street -

[tobyhill]

Al-Qaeda means the base and they also believe the final chapter in the Quran, the Caliphate, has not been written yet. They believe the supreme prophet is one who answers directly to Mohammed which according to Zawahiri is Bin Laden and he will deliver the Caliphate. Zawahiri is not ready to concede that dream is not possible and would even hide Bin Laden’s death and pump out dead Bin Laden tapes to try to keep others believing the Caliphate is near. You’re right though, it won’t work on the Muslim Street because of the exploited degrees of separation between the multiple sects.