
[Order Anni Cyrus’ new book, The Architecture of Jihad: HERE. And register for Anni Cyrus’ May 27th Evening Reception and Talk in LA: HERE.]
On May 5, Megyn Kelly said something revealing during an appearance on Next Up with Mark Halperin, while defending Tucker Carlson’s recent posture toward Islam and criticism of Israel.
“I’ve noticed just since I’ve gotten sort of more clear-eyed on Israel that a lot of the anti-Muslim rhetoric that’s put out there originates with people who are very, very pro-Israel who kind of need us to demonize them (Muslims). And I’ve taken a look recently at my own rhetoric on this to say like, have I been manipulated?”
I would like to address Megyn personally and directly:
Megyn, your statement deserves an answer because there is a limit to how much you can gaslight those who have suffered under Islam and Sharia in the service of your anti-Israel rhetoric. And yours truly has reached her limit with your latest viral statement.
So let’s address what you actually said:
Did you know that Israel did not invent my scars?
I was neither born nor raised in Israel. I was, however, born and raised in the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1983, under a Sharia-based constitution.
I was declared an adult woman at age 9, arrested repeatedly for crimes such as wearing nail polish, singing publicly, showing my hair, going to parties, and similar “crimes.” I was put in handcuffs, dragged into a morality police detention center, lashed, and even served short prison terms.
I was also sold to a man when I was 13 by my father, an act legalized and supported under Iran’s legal system based on Qur’an 4:3 and Sahih al-Bukhari – Hadith 2494.
Let me make this absolutely clear:
I was born and raised in the Islamic Republic of Iran, in a Muslim family.
Not Israel. Not a Jewish family.
I was beaten, raped, imprisoned, sold, and shattered by Muslims living under Islamic systems long before Western commentators decided criticism of Sharia must secretly be Israeli manipulation.
Now, let me also explain why I am very, very pro-Israel:
Israel is the only country that not only understands what Islam and Sharia are, but is also willing to take all the hate and stand against it, not just for Israel and the Jews, but for the world. That alone is enough reason for someone like me to stand by Israel.
And unlike those who treat Christianity like a seasonal identity depending on the political climate, I also stand by Israel because I believe it is my duty as a Christian.
Now, let me make my point about your hypocrisy absolutely clear. On January 2, 2026, during your own show, you delivered a long monologue addressing Islam, its subjugation of women, and most importantly, you closed that rant with:
“There’s no such thing as Islamophobia. You are not only entitled to “fear Islam”. I would argue it’s your duty as a Christian to stand up and fight against it.”
So, which version was the manipulation?
The version where, as Christians, it is our duty to stand against and fight Islam? The version where Islam is not for America? The version where Muslims should not be allowed in our government?
Or is the manipulation happening now, when documented realities suddenly become anti-Muslim rhetoric, Israeli propaganda, and Israel needs you to demonize Muslim refugees from the Middle East?
This is the real problem with the conversation surrounding Islam in the West. The moment people decide to hate Israel and Jews, Islam and Muslims suddenly get a promotion. The blind spot is pretending this is merely an Islamic versus Israeli conflict when the reality is much bigger: Islam versus humanity itself.
More specifically, in America, people like you have created ideological islands just like your Left versus Right to limit conversations and win the narrative.
And ironically, the first people erased by this narrative are the victims.
Girls and women trapped under these systems. Dissidents. Converts who leave the faith. Prisoners accused of blasphemy. People beaten for violating religious codes. Those executed for apostasy. Entire populations silenced by regimes claiming divine authority.
Their suffering does not disappear because some Western commentators suddenly decided it was fashionable to blame Israel for everything.
One of the strangest trends in modern political discourse is the obsession with blaming Israel for literally everything connected to Islamic criticism. It is becoming a reflex. If someone discusses jihadist ideology, restrictions under Sharia, or the treatment of women under Islamic governments, the response is no longer to debate the facts. The response is to accuse someone else of manipulation.
That is not intellectual honesty. That is avoidance.
And it comes at the expense of real victims and survivors.
The easiest way to avoid uncomfortable truths is to reframe the messenger.
But my scars are not Israeli propaganda.
The experiences of millions of women living under Islamic systems are not Israeli propaganda.
The testimonies of ex-Muslims are not Israeli propaganda.
The prison cells, the forced coverings, the religious police, the legal inequality, and the fear carried by countless people across the Islamic world are not inventions created by “very, very pro-Israel” voices.
They are realities.
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