Seeking Advice on Handling a Friend Who's Growing Islamophobic
As-salamu alaykum, fellow brothers and sisters. I'm a Canadian Muslim and could really use some advice. I have a friend whose business I invested in last year. We started off on a professional note and have been friends since 2023. Earlier this year, I noticed she was leaning more towards right-wing views, but it didn't worry me much since I have had conservative friends before. She was originally born into Buddhism (she's Burmese) and was feeling spiritually lost, so she began exploring the Abrahamic faiths. I was hopeful and glad because we used to talk a lot about religion and were connecting well. She ended up converting to Christianity. However, over time, I found myself having to explain and defend Islam more often. Recently, she started sharing some posts on Instagram that come off as very Islamophobic and spread conspiracy theories, which feels like she's caught up in a negative and hateful narrative between Christianity and Islam. I have saved her posts as evidence, and frankly, it's hard to ignore the Islamophobia. I want to return the favors I shared and end the friendship, but I'm unsure how to approach this. Our last conversation was about the death of Charlie Kirk (she sees him as a much-needed voice and truth teller) and the situation in Palestine (she initially denied it was genocide). I want to calmly challenge her posts and misconceptions, but confronting her feels tricky. I never imagined I'd be close to someone with such bigoted views. I'm worried she'll accuse me of attacking her freedom of speech since she defends Kirk. She's the first Christian I feel uneasy around because of her posts, and sometimes it feels like she's trying to force her version of Jesus on me, forgetting that Muslims love and respect Prophet Isa (peace be upon him) deeply already. If anyone has gone through something similar or has advice on how to handle this with wisdom and patience, JazakAllahu Khairan for your support.