In his media statement following the court decision on Lina Joy, Yusri Mohamad representing 80 Muslim NGO's, wrote:

'We also take this opportunity, in a time when Islamophobia seems to be very popular, to call upon all Islamic religious authorities and agencies to be extra diligent, efficient and professional in discharging their duties so that the good name of the religion does not suffer by mistakes or weaknesses at the implementation level'.

Islamophobia? What some Muslims, and Yusri apparently, describe as 'Islamophobia' is really 'anti-Islam'. But are non-Muslims necessarily anti-Islam? I don't think so. Most simply don't understand it.

I do, however, think that many non-Muslims fear Islam. Having said that, such fear does not necessarily stem from the religion itself as most have not studied it to know what it really teaches. That fear actually stems from the actions of some Muslims rather than the religion itself. And actions do speak louder than words.

And what actions do non-Muslims see? Clearly, the media has certainly given the world images of the Iranian revolution, the Taliban, and Sept 11 to name a few. They certainly help shape images in the minds of non-Muslims. But to be fair, many non-Muslims have also seen the carnage waged by George Bush and company on the lives of ordinary Iraqis and Afghans in the name of freedom and democracy.

But one need not go overseas to see the actions of Muslims, for we see it right here in Malaysia. Witness how mobs were able to disrupt the Article 11 forums at will. Witness what the authorities are doing with respect to body snatching, in the case of M Moorthy and others. Witness how these authorities can split families up. And what about the treatment of Jamaluddin Othman @Yeshua Jamaluddin, a Malay convert to Christianity?

Does this not instill fear in non-Muslims? Yusri must understand that for non-Muslims to understand Islam we must first question. Let me put this another way. Non-Muslims need to question not to undermine Islam, but to understand Islam. However, past experience with fundamentalists shows that even moderate Muslims, like those from Sisters in Islam cannot question Islam. So what more non-Muslims?

Indeed the only non-Muslim with a doctorate in Islam in Malaysia, Dr Patricia Martinez, who tried to build bridges with Muslims, also received inflammatory messages from Islamic fundamentalists. Then we have this other issue where questioning can easily be construed as 'belittling' Islam and comes with the risk of imprisonment under the Sedition Act. So how are we to proceed?

What is Yusri going to do about this apparent impasse towards greater understanding? Nothing apparently. Yusri insists instead that non-Muslims must respect Islam first before one can even begin a dialogue .

But Yusri's own words betray a sense of fear. So did the words of a lady from PAS in the audience who spoke in a personal capacity at the recent DAP organised dialogue 'Malaysia, after Lina Joy'. She claimed that Muslim reaction in Malaysia was simply because they felt that Islam was under siege, particularly living in a post-Sept 11 world. She even envisioned a massive conspiracy against Muslims.

So can we therefore conclude that Muslims fear non-Muslims? Shall we coin a new term here, 'non-Muslimphobia'? No, that would simply be idiotic. Instead, there should be some way of overcoming this fear.

Yusri should learn to put the horse before the cart instead of the other way around. He should start building bridges by helping people to overcome fear. And that can only be done through open and frank dialogue, genuinely aimed at solving issues in a rational, unemotional manner.

The respect, that Yusri and his followers so desire, whether in the religious or non-religious sense, must be earned, and not demanded. And such respect is also mutual.