Of course, there are people who leave their Islam or who ignore the obligatory rituals just as there are people who leave their Jewish or Christian religion. But Western media, like this stupid article in the Economist (there are too many stupid articles in the Economist as of late), makes it as if this is peculiar or exclusive to Islam. And look at this passage: "While the penalties for apostasy can be high in the West, they are much more severe in the Muslim world... An atheist who recently appeared on Egyptian television to debate a former deputy sheikh from Al-Azhar University was dismissed by the host and told that he needed to see a psychiatrist." I don't know about you, but being kicked out of a TV talk show hardly counts as a "severe" punishment.