In certain conservative circles, a provocative question has been circulating, often causing discomfort in more polite society. This question recently gained traction on X in November, drawing renewed attention to a longstanding curiosity.

Why do many modern liberal women express overt hostility toward Christianity while offering sympathy, or at least silence, toward Islam? This inquiry doesn’t concern cultural Muslims living peacefully in America, nor does it target neighbors or coworkers. Rather, it focuses on the ideology itself, particularly its fundamentalist strains that pose significant challenges to women’s rights, autonomy, and safety.

To be clear, this question is neither hateful nor ignorant; it is a keen observation.

Those who have taken the time to engage with reliable reports from nations like Iran, Afghanistan, and other parts of the Middle East are well aware of the realities. Women are punished for revealing their hair, girls are denied education, forced marriages occur, honor killings are a grim reality, and legal systems frequently devalue a woman’s testimony compared to a man’s.

These are not fringe claims but well-documented truths. Yet, the voices that most vociferously denounce patriarchy, oppression, and “toxic masculinity” often fall silent when confronted with these facts. Disturbingly, some even deflect, make excuses, or chastise those who draw attention to these issues.

That question is not hateful. It is not ignorant. It is observant.

Anyone who has bothered to read basic reporting from Iran, Afghanistan, or parts of the Middle East knows the score. Women beaten for showing hair. Girls barred from school. Forced marriages. Honor killings. Legal systems where a woman’s testimony is worth half of a man’s. 

This is not fringe misinformation. This is documented reality. And yet, the loudest voices screaming about patriarchy, oppression, and “toxic masculinity” fall strangely quiet when those realities come up. Or worse, they deflect, excuse, or scold anyone who notices.

So what is going on here?

The concept that explains it best is something many conservatives have started calling toxic empathy. Empathy unmoored from truth. Compassion divorced from wisdom. Feelings elevated above facts. Empathy itself is not the problem. Empathy is good. Christianity invented it as a moral virtue long before it became a hashtag. The problem is empathy that has been weaponized, redirected, and inflated until it overrides common sense and moral clarity.

When empathy becomes the highest authority, it no longer asks whether something is good or true. It only asks who looks like the victim and who can be labeled the oppressor.

Christianity, especially biblical Christianity, makes moral demands. It talks about sin. It talks about self-denial. It talks about authority that does not bend to personal feelings. That is offensive to a culture built on self-definition and personal autonomy. Islam, in progressive circles, gets a pass not because it is gentle, but because it is categorized as “the other.” Criticizing it feels politically dangerous. Defending it feels virtuous, even when the facts say otherwise.

This is not about theology. It is about narrative.