[muytreda]

But why can't he simply use the work in whatever good way you suppose it would do to the audience, while making it absolutely clear that he disagrees with what was Said about Prophet Muhammad () and Ali, metaphorical or not. Wouldn't the audience still take in what he said regarding the rest of the book, and respect him for fully standing up to a principle that he should have layed down concerning his Prophet ()?

It seems as if he put himself into an awkward situation (which in itself is extremely dangerous) for absolutely no good reason.

I don't think it was that he accepts what Dante said, or that he agrees with the belief, rather it's that he attempted to DEFEND IT, rather than just disagree with it completely.