This writer fully agrees with CK Tan on the need for a multi-religious Islamic state ('A multi-religious-based Islamic state?' July 2).

The Islamic state is a state in accordance with Islam, and Islam is a society of multi-religiosity, and multi-racialism, with the Islamic community, culturally Semitic (Arab), playing the role of a prefect.

An Islamic state is a state of democracy, not just ballot box democracy but human rights democracy. There is no room for detention without trial in an Islamic state.

Oppression is to be minimised in an Islamic state, especially for non-Muslims.

The Muslim faith here is not an ideology like capitalism, but a divine revelation brought forth in the beginning of history, by Arab prophets Noah, Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Shuib, Lot, Zulkifli, Khidr and finally Muhammad, and correctly transmitted to humankind in the Quran.

It means universal peace, justice and love, under a common-value social order with a formless Creator as the focus of loyalty.

If there are any people who would be disadvantaged in an Islamic state, it would be the Muslims, the prefects on whose shoulders the burden of good behaviour and morality would fall.

They would be punished more severely than non-Muslims for every crime, since they are the prefects. They are, according to Islam, supposed to live progressive yet sober lives, not unlike the scouts and girl guides, the Rela and cadets.

The Islamic state may be achieved within a modern national boundary, but ultimately, it has to spread to cover the whole world.

It can be spread only by goodwill and good works, as what Abraham, Ismail and Muhammad, even Umar Al Khattab, did. Never by war.

It cannot be achieved by a single, dogmatic political organisation, but by all dedicated, incorruptible, progressive and austere Muslims.

With help from non-Muslims, who must be educated sufficiently that Islam Is Love.

Neither Umno nor PAS is Islamic. Their dogmatic and partisan politics totally disqualifies them.

But non-Muslims should not be opposed to an Islamic state.

Our Father of Fathers, Prophet Noah, was a Muslim, and so was his son and successor, Shem (or the first Abraham).

It is through Islam that the non-Muslim religions were born, and allowed to exist.

Shem's descendant, Jacob the Arab, became the father of a new race called the Israelites or Judeans (Jews), which practised their own customs, and had their own religion.

People living in the Italian (Roman) empire were allowed to form their own religion, Christianity.

Likewise with the Sabaeans, an Arab term which means Humanity, and denotes the rest of humankind other than Muslims (the Arab race), Jews and Christians.

Sabaeans are free to be Muslim, Jew or Christian, or return to their own original religion.

Their own original religion has to be rediscovered by pooling all universal human values, like what the Sikh community of India did.

Islamic state does strike fear of medievalist values in the hearts of non-Muslims.

But all the so-called Islamic states of the world today are secular states, which are using Islam as a means of promoting a reactionary secularism.

The reactionary secularism is the secularism of the Ummayad kingdom, a bunch of former deviant Christians, which usurped power from the Islamic state after killing Ali Ibn Abu Talib, the last leader of the global Muslim state set up in 622 by Muhammad.

Many Muslim teachers and politicians have been infected by the reactionary secularism of the Ummayads, and that is why there are so many so-called Muslim extremists.

Real Islam as practised in a true Islamic state is the Islam which says the middle path is for humanity, especially Muslims, to follow.

Not medievalism, not liberalism, but conservatism laced with lots of social progress.

Chopping off hands and veiling women are cultural nuances which cannot be imposed on non-Semitic Muslim countries.

These were peculiar to Noah and Abraham's people, who had the dastardly habit of fighting each other and killing many, besides menacing hapless women like wolves menace sheep.

By the time Muhammad and Umar led Islamdom, the hand-chopping punishment was de-emphasised and curative punishment emphasised.

In conclusion, it is the duty of all responsible Muslims to educate and enlighten non-Muslims on what a true Islamic state is.

It is also the duty of non-Muslims not to be biased against the Islamic state, and be open-minded about it, since it is the state of their ancestors.

No party should be taken on its word as a champion of Islam, since politicians are power-seeking people.

Parties that seek to champion a particular race or religion, and parties that misinterpret religion to produce reactionary social policies, would under Islamic law, be barred by the independent judiciary and independent elections commission from forming the government.