I have read K.Ali. I know the arguments mentioned by him
Actually I am personally inclined to think that he had nothing to do with the cause of Islam. I have my reasons for this belief:
1- Booty is out of question because that's an integral part of a war, so he did nothing different if he collected his share of the deal
but why did he wage all his wars at first place? He had pure political motives, nothing Islamic in his wars. Political motives include: source of revenue, to keep a sense of his might upon Hindus, to increase the number of recruits for his armies etc.
2- The temple of Somnath had strategic(read monetary) importance ofcourse but how was it impuring the beliefs of the infidels that it became all the more essential to crush it. Hindus generally believe that their God can save them, or can really help them out and the higher the esteem in which a particular God is held, higher are the expectations. So Somnath was not an exception, if it was impuring their beliefs so was the every other temple out there in India.
3- Most of his wars were against a particular Raja who had defied him or refused to pay tribute or conspired against him with other Rajas. So in order to crush them and set an example for others, he waged most of his wars.
These are my arguments. If you think I'm mistaken somewhere, criticise me all you want. And if you think that both of us have contributed our share and have nothing much to say then we can move on to the next emperor