Here's what can happen to an atheist in a Muslim country

[Jehanne]

But being naive/overly brave shouldn't be a severely punishable offense.

I agree completely, but this isn't about what Saudi Arabia should or shouldn't be, but about what Saudi Arabia is - a brutally repressive theocracy run by a family of 7th century throwbacks whose only methods of dealing with dissent are to jail, torture and murder dissenters.  

Remember during the opening scene of 'Pulp Fiction', and the discussion about Antoine Roccamura?  Well, to paraphrase Vincent Vega, 'Fucking Fayadh shoulda fucking known better.'

Boru

They are sick, brainwashed bastards; Mohammad was an epileptic, narcissistic pedophile who had delusions of grandeur; when he was not foaming at the mouth with another delusion/vision from "allah", he was getting a boner over the next adolescent whom he was going to rape.

By the way, I am traveling to Saudi Arabia this fall.  And, my Firefox spellchecker insists that I capitalize "allah".

[drfuzzy]

This kind of shit is why Islam is such a "rapidly growing religion". It's the one most willing to use violence and force. Mind you, that's mainly because it's the religion that is in a position to get away with it. I wouldn't expect any better behaviour from Christianity, if the roles were reversed.

Ah, but when the Catholic Church ruled large parts of the world (Dark Ages, Middle Ages) - they were just as bad. Remember the Medieval Inquisitions?  Of course, their punishments were usually reserved for "heretics" - which were anyone who held a belief that was contrary to Catholic doctrine.  Heresy was a crime against the state.  It was a pretty effective way to stop the formation of other xtian sects - at least until Martin Luther came along.  It was a less effective tool against scientific advancement - remember Galileo? Copernicus?  Their punishments were usually reserved for Catholics who were objecting to Catholic Church doctrine, and not people of other faiths . . . but how many people of other faiths lived in Catholic-ruled areas?  You would have been shunned by all your neighbors, at the very least.   
      People speaking out against the church were flogged, hung, banished, branded, beheaded, and burned at the stake.

[robvalue]

Indeed. And if it wasn't for secularism, I'd expect Christianity to be much the same today.