Difference Noted

When prosecuting the War on Terror, it's important for the coalition to differentiate between the harmful extremist Muslim states and the benign moderates who value freedom and religious tolerance like, oh - just to pluck one out of the air at random - Malaysia:

During the 1990s, it locked up four of his Muslim followers (there are also Christians, Buddhists and Hindus) for attempting to renounce Islam—a crime in most Malaysian states.

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The national government of Malaysia, headed by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), says that it believes in persuasion rather than coercion in matters of religion. But it refuses to endorse the idea that Muslims should interpret and observe their faith as they see fit. It is tracking 22 sects it deems deviant, with some 22,800 members between them.

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Meanwhile, in states like Terengganu, also run by UMNO, repressive laws against heresy and apostasy remain on the books, and officious local functionaries occasionally enforce them.