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In reply to Ibnu Sahih's Hadith are applicable until the end of time , may I suggest that he first try to implement all the authentic Hadith in multi-religious Malaysia? Why talk of far away places when you cannot even begin to implement it in your own land today?

As for the economy - where has Islamic economics succeeded? Pray, tell us all where Islamic economics has successfully been applied - leading to development and industrialisation?

Whether you admit it or not, the cost of capital and opportunity cost are concepts which we must embrace in order to efficiently allocate resources to yield an acceptable rate of return. In other words, interest is a necessity in modern economics. Period.

The heart of the matter is contextualisation of religious texts. Is the context in which the Hadith were uttered the same today as it was 1,400 years ago ? Of course not. We do not go around stoning married adulterers to death - even if we have four male witnesses.

Indeed, we do not even stone animals to death - much less people. Why? Because we do not share the same social values of seventh century Arabia. Today adultery is dealt with by a much more humane approach. Divorce in the event that counselling fails. Isn't that more reasonable ?

Those who oppose the contextualisation of religious texts etc, are precisely those who take an absolutist attitude towards religious dogma. I reject that. For me religious dogma cannot possibly be absolute as society itself evolves.

Today we are no longer an agricultural or nomadic society. We are now an industrialised nation headed towards becoming a knowledge-based-economy. Women work in the professions and cities are blooming throughout East Asia.

What Muslims need is a guide to teach them how to apply Islam in today's context and in today's social conditions. Not that of seventh century Arabia. To me, nothing is absolute. There is a time and place for everything. Context makes all the difference.

I would also like to reply to Abdul Rahman Talib's Apostasy punishment not created by man .

First of all, the writer fails to address the main issue - that of the context in which the Hadith was spoken. True, one can argue that even the context in which the Quran was revealed has changed.

And yes, I am of the opinion that we should re-interpret the Quran according to our context so that it can still remain relevant today. Ultimately it's how one views organised religion.

Whether one accepts it as an unqualified absolute truth that has to be understood literally or as being dependent on context, circumstances and interpretations. To me, organised religion cannot be absolute as even society evolves.

There is no way you can convince me that the context of 7th century Arabia is the same as today's 21st century Malaysia. No way. And that is why I do not believe in the death penalty for apostates. Not in today's context.

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