Mohammad Faisal writes to malaysiakini that he no longer accepts Islam, the religion of his birth. He has indicated an intention to leave it. As a result, he might have to emigrate just to get away from any potential social and legal reprisal his apostasy would entail in this country.

Arbibi Ashoy expressed surprise and disdain at Faisal's intentions. He just cannot see why Faisal wishes to renounce Islam (and to emigrate). According to Arbibi, Islam is perfect so no one in his right mind would ever want to leave it. To his thinking, only scoundrels and lunatics would leave a faith so flawless.

To quote an English saying, what Arbibi 'thinks can't happen, won't happen'

Arbibi's assertion is all too typical of the Malay-Muslim mental cocoon which I had described previously in malaysiakini . I had forwarded the hypothesis that Malay-Muslim thinking follows a specific pattern, viz., (i) to take indefinite knowledge as the truth; (ii) this truth then falls under the ambit and influence of the law of excluded middle; and (iii) its viability and credibility is protected by dogma.

His statement 'Islam is a perfect and flawless religion' falls very much into this pattern. The pattern emerges in the following manner: (i) this statement belongs to the category of indefinite knowledge. It has been handed down from generation to generation and accepted as true without any question, scepticism, criticism, or experimentation. Its validity is accepted in toto, i.e. without any proof.

Its claims then fall under (ii) the ambit of the hyperbolic and exaggerated law of excluded middle or false dichotomy. The words 'perfect' and 'flawless' provide as examples of these elements.

The sanctity of the statement is then (iii) protected by dogma, which in this case appears in the form of Arbibi wishing to find out the reasons why Faisal wishes to leave Islam.

Arbibi should not lose any sleep over Faisal's apostasy, for Islam does say that there is nothing between God and man. Faisal is entitled to his perception of truth, in this case religious truth.

But whatever his reason (or reasons), let Faisal deal with his own understanding of religion and Islam. His fate in the Hereafter is a situation that God can too easily sort out.

However, I do commend Faisal for being very rational about his understanding of truth (in this case about religion). He has managed to get out of the yoke of dogma in that he does not fear the Islamic version of the Hereafter anymore.

I commend him also for at least two other reasons stemming of the first. One, that he has the courage to openly declare his renouncement of Islam, and two, for his foresight considering emigration to avoid any possible reprisals.

About the only good thing I can say about Arbibi's sentiments is that he has provided me with a perfect example to my hypothesis on the Malay-Muslim thinking norm. I say this to Arbibi: in this real, practical and pragmatic world of ours, what we think can't happen, can happen after all.

That's the truth.