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political islam 4195. Physical elimination:The last and final solution when all other strategies havefailed.Our point of contention is this fatal confusion of power politics andreligious doctrine. As a result, a political (!) doctrine of jih§d emergedthat justified the military conquest of foreign cultures. It justified, inreligious (!) terms, the sacrifice of soldiers and the political eliminationof opponents by declaring the enemy infidels and the fallensoldiers martyrs. The peaceful sermon that wanted to persuade people,in a good and convincing argument, to follow the path of Godwas abandoned in favour of parading the military might of brutalwarriors. The Book’s call to ‘travel the world in God’s way’ turnedinto a pretext to ‘spread Islam by the sword’ which, in fact, was justanother ideological pretext for looting and plundering foreign villagesand cities. As usual, the prophetical ÈadÊths were used to replace thepeaceful message of the Book with a more bellicose rendering thatlegitimised the political goals of the regimes. Just look at how exegetesinterpreted the politically neutral (read: purely soteriological)term ‘victory’:Verily We have granted you a manifest victory. ( Al-FatÈ 48:1)When comes the help of God, and victory. ( Al-Naßr 110:1)For no reason whatsoever fatÈ, in conjunction with naßr in 110:1,became in both verses Allah’s description of MuÈammad’s (ß) conquestof Mecca in 630. This interpretation ignores the fact that in48:2–3, the text clearly specifies why the Prophet (ß) was grantedsuccess or victory; 86 namely, that he had secured four things fromGod: a) His forgiveness of sins; b) His grace; c) His guidance to thestraight path; and d) His powerful help. Nothing supports the connectionmade by the exegetes between the conquest of Mecca andAllah’s granting of these four things. The error of the exegetes iseven more obvious if we look at other verses that use the term fatÈ:In the God is our trust. Our Lord! Decide you [iftaÈ] between us andour people in truth, for you are the best to decide. ( Al-A#r§f 7:89)86‘That God may forgive you your faults of the past and those to follow—fulfilHis favour to you—and guide you on the straight way. * And that God may help youwith powerful help’ ( Al-FatÈ 48:2–3).