Hey, I'm an aspiring novelist myself, and from what I've come to understand, it's the authors responsibility to tell not just a story but a viewpoint. All fiction is inherently political, religious, pro and anti issues, and much more. You can't have a story without taking a side, even if it's not the side you personally agree with.
In writing a story, you are living that character's life with them, and the same goes for reading it. Making the audience empathetic to the characters can be extremely difficult if they are very different from one another, but not impossible. Sure, some will read it and not connect, but that's going to happen no matter what.
I'm not a Muslim child, I never grew up in Afghanistan, and I never had to go through the tribulations Amir did in "The Kite Runner", but that didn't stop me from connecting with him on an emotional level and empathizing with him in his pain. The main character in Chuck Palahniuk's book "Choke" is awful. He's a loathesome human being, and you're not supposed to empathize with him fully. But by living his life with him, learning about his past, you begin to understand him better as a person. You probably wouldn't condone his choices, but you have come to understand him as a human being with flaws and desires all the same, and you begin to feel for him. You don't have to agree with a book to enjoy it and learn from it.
This became quickly disjointed, but I guess what I'm getting at is that you're not trying to "win over" the audience with your views as much as you are trying to make them feel and see what your characters do, whether or not they agree with it. Fiction is all about taking a new point of view and running with it, exploring it. Otherwise, how can we write convincing villains? If they agree with everything you do, and don't go against the grain or bring up new ideas, they fall flat. Same for our heroes, they have to have something that sets them apart or makes them different from everyone else.
Fiction does try to change people's opinions. On everything, always. That's the whole point. That's why we write it. We weave together stories with the intent to give a new perspective, a new idea, or just to reaffirm old ones. Then, it's up to the reader to either agree or disagree, but at the end of the day, they have been confronted with the viewpoint and have better understanding on it. It's entertainment and escapism, but it's also a chance to see things from a new perspective and learn about yourself as you learn about the character.
Don't stop writing what you feel you need to write. If someone doesn't like it, that's okay. You can't please everyone, nor should you try. The only person that your writing should ever really matter to is yourself. If you like how it's come out, then that's the most important part. Take their criticism, learn from it, and keep writing.
Sorry, got a bit passionate there.
