Letter writer Brian's rhetorical and emotional outburst in Keadilan's biggest blunder in the making against the party's expression of respect for the right of PAS to legislate the hudud and qisas, will solve no problem.

On the contrary, I believe this kind of simplistic view of the world as being divided into good ("secularism") and bad ("theocracy") is immature.

First, non-Muslims must respect the rights and duties of Muslims to lead their way of life, as we expect Muslims to respect our cultures, religions and languages; in other word, all must know how to take and give, or affirm the principle of quid pro quo or reciprocity;

Second, as long as the application of hudud and qisas is strictly confined within the Muslim community, non-Muslims should not impose our will on Muslims, unless non-Muslims are prepared to accept the imposition of the will of Muslims unto ourselves;

Third, whether a Muslim is 'fundamentalist' or 'liberal', or whether there is such as division at all, is not for non-Muslims to judge, just as no Buddhists, Christians, Hindus or Sikhs would like to be sub-divided by Muslims;

Fourth, if amputation of limbs is cruel, then the existing death penalty by hanging and shooting (as in China) is equally, if not more cruel; why is there no objection from people like Brian? What about the question of procedural justice? Punishments prescribed by hudud and qisas at least have to go through the open and transparent procedures of public trials with credible witnesses and evidences. What about laws like Internal Security Act?

Fifth, why do most of the Muslims abandon hope in the existing secular system of jurisprudence in favour of the syariah law ? It is because the secular system of jurisprudence is no longer being trusted and believed to be fair, impartial and just. Whose fault is it? I submit that it is the Umno-dominated government.

It follows that, whatever the objections from non-Muslims and however loud their opposition, if the material and moral corruption of the Umno-dominated government persist with the support, direct or indirect, of non-Muslims, more and more Muslims will opt to support the syariah system of law. Barisan Nasional's corrupt governance is the bedrock of hudud and qisas.

Seen from this perspective, if non-Muslims like Brian still cannot see the root cause or the 'push factor' of Muslims' alienation and discontent with the judicial mess in Malaysia, and appreciate the role played by PAS and Keadilan in helping to provide open and peaceful outlets to Muslims' moral outrage and discontent against the corrupt regime, then the political development in Malaysia will take other undesirable forms and courses beyond the control of PAS and Keadilan which are still committed to parliamentary elections and open debates.

To stem the tide of Muslims' outrage against Umno and BN, it is important for intelligent Malaysians to remove the root cause or the 'push factor' that drive Muslims to support ideas of politics and system of jurisprudence which are more and more unfamiliar to non-Muslims. It means Umno and BN must be radically reformed, weaken or even removed to restore the equanimity and psychological balance of Muslims who constitute the numerical majority in Malaysia.

In short, a sense of dignified realism, and of self-enlightened interests is needed on the part of non-Muslims. If hudud and qisas result in the hands of corrupt Umno politicians be amputated, so be it. Let it be served as a warning to all collectors and managers of the hard-earned money of the tax payers of all races.

I know this line of 'grey' reasoning is unpopular among non-Muslims, but I trust malaysiakini is liberal, broad-minded and morally courageous enough to give it a chance to be published so that non-Muslims would think more deeply into a problem that is not in the simple realm of 'either-or', 'black-and-white', 'they-or-us', 'Muslims or non-Muslims', or 'secularism or theocracy'.