I refer to the letter Time for moderate Muslims to start learning .

It may interest Abdul Rahman Abdul Talib to know how little the Muslim world has contributed to modern science. Unlike him, I do not live in the centuries gone by. I live in a modern world where Muslims do not contribute much to scientific development. Hardly any.

Secondly, it matters not to me what some obscure, 10th century interpretation of of Islam says about apostasy. I do not live in the 10th century and the non-Muslims of Malaysia are not 'dhimmis' of some imaginary Islamic state either.

In today's world we should not and cannot punish apostasy. Period. And if need be, then we shall have to review some of the past interpretations of Islam. I have no doubts whatsoever that we need to question Islamic dogma critically and modernise some of them. Change.

To accept Islamic dogma without question is to quote it out of context. Are Malaysian non-Muslims 'dhimmis'? Does God need the faith of those who are compelled by law to remain Muslim? Is hypocrisy the high culture of Islamic dogma ?

I say no to Abdul Rahman Abdul Talib. If 10th century Islamic interpretations are leading us nowhere, then we must modernise and find a more meaningful, contemporary interpretation of Islam.

Either modernise or be obsolete.