Tai Lo Chin ('Good try, good cause, but it won't work', July 13) gives Farish A Noor an E(?) for effort, but it's a no-go since it is untenable from strict religious perspectives (whether Islamic or Christianity).

However, over the years, there has been a shift in Christian thinking on various issues from slavery to the rights of women. There is a diversity of opinion, of course - for example, many still do not believe that women have a role as priest or minister.

Views on homosexuality have changed in the last 30 years - more and more agree that it is possible to be gay and a good Christian at the same time. There are now a few large denominations that allow openly gay men and lesbian women to become leaders within the Church.

In North America, if there is one prejudice that is still acceptable it is the one against gays and lesbians. I suggest that the view expressed by Lekiu Bakri ('Homosexuality in the eyes of Islam', July 13) 'love the sinner but not the sin' is one of the factors that allows children in a school yard to get away with calling someone a fag (one would be severely punished if we called someone a nigger, chink or wop). It also helps people turn a blind eye to physical assaults of these minorities. How can gays and lesbians stop this unless they organise to fight for their rights?

As Farish has observed before, there has always been diversity of views within Islam. Therefore, it should be possible to discuss openly the appropriate response of society. Is there an opening for a more compassionate approach to a group of people that has always been with us within Malaysia or the Muslim community at large?