I would like to take this opportunity to respond to the letter by Canterbury Trust titled No turning back in Islam .

Trust is of the opinion that:

'A Muslim who chooses to profess any other religion is an apostate and therefore not a Muslim. Islam says there is no compulsion, which is true, but this would only apply to non-believers who want to convert to Islam. Once a Muslim always a Muslim. To be a Muslim, one to must take the oath of the Shahadah and then there is no turning back.'

What Trust fails to mention is that the majority of Muslims never had the choice to profess Islam. The majority of Muslims are not converts from some other religion into Islam but, rather, were born to Muslim parents.

As such, it is their parents which automatically make the choice for them. The Surah's 'There is no compulsion in religion' does not apply to Muslims in Malaysia for there is no freedom of religion for Malaysian Muslims. Period.

Any person who comes to realise - when they grow up or are of age - that Islam does not offer them the spiritual teachings they seek, is trapped. It has been demonstrated numerous times that one cannot at all, ever, leave Islam legally in Malaysia and become an apostate.

If Malaysians wants to realise the Vision 2020 goals they are so proud of, religious freedom may well find itself to be the biggest obstacle of all.