Recently a politician who was born as a Muslim was cremated.

Answer

Christians bury their dead in coffins. Jews also bury their dead. Some primitive people who still inhabit a province in Pakistan called Kaafristan, enclose their dead in coffin-like boxes and dump them in the jungle for wild animals to devour. Parsees (Fire-worshippers) dump their dead in a special building, open on top. Vultures then devour the bodies. Muslims bury their dead. Hindus and some atheists burn (cremate) their dead. They assign their dead to the fire prior to their entry into Jahannum. The chap mentioned by you was an avowed atheist. He was a murtad, hence his abode was the Fire.