I am a moderate, practicing Muslim. However I am liberal enough to accept that there are others who are not emotionally inclined towards Islam.

It does not surprise me since the Islamists have proven themselves time and again, to be totally incompetent in handling the social conditions brought about by modernity and industrialisation.

Apostasy is not a problem; it is in fact a symptom of an underlying cancer. The sorry state of the Muslim world today is also a reason behind such rejection of Islamic ideology. After all, the proof of the pudding is in the eating and not in the talking.

What bothers me so much is the way these fundamentalists treat the apostates. Why should apostates be made to migrate? Why should apostates be discriminated? Why should apostates be treated like lepers?

The last time I checked, Malaysia was a signatory to the articles and conventions of human rights. Obviously the freedom to choose a religion constitutes one of those rights.

If we allow prejudice to take root on this issue of apostasy, aren't we opening the gates to which any and every other human right is also liable to blatant violation?

In today's world, religion is not as sacred as it used to be. Rational people will question dogma. There are no more 'unquestionable absolute truths'.

If they find the dogma unappealing, they just might become apostates. Isn't it the duty of Muslims to make Islam attractive to all? So why fuss about apostasy?