As a frequent business visitor to Malaysia, I find the stereotypes of Muslims from many, especially since the visibility of fundamentalist terrorist groups has risen among Westerners, as all of surprising, naive, and disconcerting. Several have mentioned they are not interested in visiting Malaysia as it is an "Islamic country".

Forget the propaganda and posturing from political opportunists on both sides on the debate of Islamic stereotyping.

Experience it yourself.

A simple visit to Kuala Lumpur would put at rest false stereotypes of the Islam religion and its adherents for ever. For here, Islam, Buddhist, Hindu, or Christian - citizens are just simply - "Malaysians". Just behind my hotel in central Kuala Lumpur, the 1st Baptist Church displays a christian cross prominently to the bustling Jalan Alor, one of Kuala Lumpur's busiest eating streets. While predominantly offering Chinese street food, Jalan Alor also offers Malay food cooked by Muslims and Indian food by Indians. Go North-East and you will come across one of Kuala Lumpur's oldest and biggest mosques, just a stone's throw from Chinatown offering an array of Buddhist temples.

One of my favourite Malay food stalls behind the IMC building in Jalan Sultan Ismail and adjacent to the Concorde hotel and the Hard Rock Café is lorded over by a Muslim owner in long flowing white robes. Before he had his hair and beard cut around 12 months back for fear of scaring away the punters, he looked for all the world like Osama bin Laden. Three stalls down the finest fish curries are served by some of the kindliest women in the world who always have a joke and smile for me.

But that's not the main point. Stroll down the busiest commercial and shopping streets in Kuala Lumpur you will see Muslims, Buddhists and Indians sharing the same table, chatting together and working together. In a couple of hours you can see why Malaysia is one of the most successful multi-cultural societies on earth.

To a large extent the same can be said for Indonesia. It is only the tiniest minority in the Islam world who wish to achieve political aims by violence, and they bear nothing in common with the real devout Muslim than a common religion, variations of which are as large or even more diverse as those between Christian and Buddhist interpretations of the same religion. Their crazed demented leaders and poor uneducated rural followers are as different from true Muslims as Christians are from Jim Jones. After all, in South East Asia, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam are all religions introduced in comparatively recent times.

That's not to say that Malaysia is immune from terrorist attack. After all, some groups aligned with al qaeda, are targeting not only Western infidels but also those Muslim countries, individuals and groups it feels have betrayed their own twisted view of the word of Mohammad. It is as exposed as any country. It's symbols of business, places of entertainment and commerce are targets as well as those in Indonesia, the US, Thailand, Australia, Europe, and just about anywhere you wish to mention.

Today, I had an early morning meeting with some Chinese associates, followed by a meeting at one of Malaysia's largest corporations managed by Malay Muslims. Tonight I will stroll down the road for coffee with a mixed group of Muslims, Chinese, Indians, and (strangely enough) - a few Mat Sallehs like me.

In a few days we will all be celebrating the Indian festival of light - Deepavali. But more about that on the weekend...