Well what you said still holds. They do find greater comfort casting their enemy as a worshipper of a different god. Having Hindu polytheists or Jews as enemies fits perfectly within the narrow confines of the islamic "us vs them" narrative . Apostates and free-thinkers are much more difficult and alien to the musulman mind.................
That is
NOT narrow confines of Islam but rules of Muhammad's Islam that stems from Quran dear Iblis., And you also put
Apostates and free-thinkers together for Muslims. Apostates of Islam are the worst in Islam right from the start to to this day. They are worse than pagans/hindus, Jews, Christians in the books of Islam and in the minds of Muslims. They are enemies of Islam and Muslims
unless they repent and come back to Islam.So you can NOT put
Apostates and free-thinkers together. But you are right Muslims and Islam never thought about people like Freethinkers, Humanists , naturalists evolve in time. In fact all the way until 1980s, even educated Muslims never thought about this sect of human race..