I refer to Abdul Rahman Abdul Talib's letter titled Whimsical interpretation of Islam is wrong .

Firstly, I am not Malaysian but instead a Singaporean. From the Singaporean perspective - Malaysia is indeed 'Talibanising' itself at the speed of light! That's why the liberals are sidelined. Even the Indonesians are more balanced in their perspective. If one travels to America, one will find that the American Muslims have begun to toy around with the notion of a re- interpretation (or even reform) of Islamic doctrines.

Nothing more personal than the freedom of conscience here is at stake. I repeat myself - of what use is the 'syahadah' and faith of someone who is compelled by law to remain Muslim? Is that not compulsion on one's conscience? Does that not breed hypocrisy?

Is that in any way 'good' and could anything like that come from a benevolent God? Frankly, I do not think so. Maybe what's good for the goose is also good for the gander. Non-Muslims in Malaysia should also introduce anti-apostasy laws. Maybe Christians who want to convert to Islam in Malaysia should get permission from the Archbishop or some other Christian authority. How would Muslims feel about that? Don't be hypocritic now! It takes two to tango.

Look, the kind of interpretations of Islam that Malaysian religious authorities and figures subscribe to are those that are based on the socio-political context of the 10th to 12th centuries - during the Crusades. A time of Dar-ul-Harb and Dar-ul-Islam. So of course - in that context - converting to Christianity might have been treacherous; an act of treason. And hence Muslim scholars did interpret it as such way back then.

However, we no longer live in such a political context. Do we then blindly follow a 10th century interpretation of Islam ?

Abdul Rahman asks who decides on what to re-interpret? My response is simple. It has always been the 'ulama' of Islam who make interpretations. There has never ever been an interpretation which is context-free. All interpretations are subject to influence from the environment. If need be, the 'ulama' can always sit down with political scientists, sociologists, economists, scientists etc, to find a meaningful interpretation of Islam. it has been done before in the 10th century. It should and must be done today.

As far as science since the period of the Enlightenment, the Muslim world has only been a poor spectator. The Muslim world has not contributed much to science since the past 300 years or so. Yes, they invented the numerals in the 10th century.

But I do not live in the past nor bask in past glory. The world has changed. In today's world, the Muslims contribute almost nothing to science. And that's a fact that Abdul Rahman must face.

Re-interpret Islam now before its too late.