What does it mean when stupid Western media refer to a non-believing Muslim(born) as "heretic"

How stupid is it for the Independent to refer to this woman as "heretic"? Heretic comes from a Christian or Jewish religious culture when actual authoritative religious rulings would be issued to declare someone as "heretic".  It has no meaning here.  If you are referring to the fact that she is non-believing, there are millions of people in the Arab world who are non-believing and no one refer to them as heretic.  It does not even have an Arabic counterpart here.  It is stupid and intended to promote the imagine of an all-powerful Islamic government which does not allow people to leave the faith.  I and many others in the region are explicitly atheist and no one ever declared us "heretic".  This is actually a schtick used by Muslim-born Arabs in the West who want to attract attention of Western media and who wish to go on Zionist-sponsored/Christian-sponsored  Islamophobic tours.  And why is she in hiding? Who knows of her? No one in the Arab and Muslim world ever heard of her. Even Muslims in the West don't know who she is.  I know she wants attention but come on.