After reading some of the letters revolving around the issue of apostasy and Islam, it seems to me that the fundamental problem on both sides of the debate is the utter failure to understand Islam as a universal institution.

This very concept, or connotation, has a very wide implication for it urges us to rethink the concept of religion as a whole. Islam is just a term, a name, a noun - not a sectarian or elitist religion. It is not the religion of a few who abide by certain concrete rules, catechism and sorts.

Islam derives from the verb 'aslama' which means 'to submit', and in the context of religion, it means a domain (noun) of submission to divinity. A Muslim therefore, is a person who submits to divinity.

Thus, every God-conscious person who submits to His existence, who acknowledges his rightful place in relation to His, regardless of how he practices it (in Christian, Hindu, Buddhist culture etc) is, in every sense of the word, a Muslim.

Such is the de-codification of the term, but due to the language barrier, it has come to be known as an Arabic domain, whose centre of power is firmly entrenched in Mecca and whose ideological content is closely associated with the Arabic culture and society at a point in time. This cannot be a feature of a universal religion.

The accurate term 'Islam' is, therefore, meant to be universal and most importantly, natural. To overlook this fact is to ignore the very precept of Islam as a universal religion - 'al-deen al-fitrah': the religion of nature. It cannot be compared to Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, or even the kind of 'Islam' that we find today.

These are all cultural manifestations of the true religion sent by one God which can be portrayed as one single line throughout the evolution of spiritual history. All the Prophets, from Adam to Ibrahim (Abraham) to Isa (Jesus), to Muhammad have all articulated the real essence of the universal religion.

But man could not fully encapsulate this 'true essence' and they failed to separate the universality of religion from the culture that they are living in. This gave birth to a plethora of cultural manifestations such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity (early followers of Jesus don't even know what the term 'Christian' meant) and of late, the 'Islam' of today.

'Al-deen al-fitrah' means that everyone is born with the essence of the true religion. It is inherent in Man. It is from this premise that we should engage the issue of apostasy.

Thus, a person who transgresses his own natural boundaries, who goes against the nature of humanity, spreading chaos and evil, is an apostate for he is going against his own nature and spreading the same malicious intent to fellow human beings.

Therefore, a law on such a person can best be described as a practical solution. Even at this point, the categorisation of an 'apostate' is subject to increasing scrutiny.

I would firmly conclude that all this talk on Islam and apostasy is completely missing the point. One must understand the concept of religion deeper and go beyond the persistent prejudices and stereotypes in order to intellectually engage the issue.

As SY has pointed out , it is an insult to God. I stand firm with this.