Juan Manuel de Prada whitewashes one of the ten countries that most persecute Christians

Geopolitics has become a refuge from which some wretches dedicate themselves to whitewashing criminal regimes.

Iran and the already blurred lines between the antisemitic far-right and far-left
Juan Manuel de Prada, the Russian and Hamas massacres, and the 'nebula of oblivion'

This phenomenon has played a significant role in the rapprochement between the far left and the antisemitic far right that I discussed here yesterday. People who supposedly defend antagonistic ideological positions end up sharing the same international alliances due to their shared hatreds, especially hatred of the West and hatred of Jews. Of course, in this mix, one ingredient carries more weight than the others: the far right has allowed itself to be dragged along by the far left in a ridiculous way, adopting positions that years ago it would have considered unthinkable.

I've been giving a clear example of this phenomenon for some time now. Under the guise of geopolitics (that "Anglo-Zionism" in which he concentrates all his prejudices and to which he attributes all evils), the Spanish writer Juan Manuel de Prada justified the Russian invasion of Ukraine, perpetrated by a dictatorship that is committing countless crimes against the Ukrainian civilian population. For years now, De Prada has been repeating the Kremlin's slogans like a parrot, even the most outrageous lies, only to then claim that we are the ones being manipulated.

A few days ago, De Prada signed two articles in Abc (here and here) talking about Venezuela without offering even the slightest criticism of Nicolás Maduro's dictatorship and its brutal human rights violations, focusing all his criticism on the United States. These are two articles that any communist could have written. One of them began like this:

"Those progressive condemnations of the United States' aggression in Venezuela are appalling, starting by highlighting Maduro's authoritarianism, or his violations of 'human rights,' or I don't know how many other such trifles ".

As we can see, for Juan Manuel de Prada, the accusations of human rights violations in Venezuela are "trifles," that is, minor things, worthless, or of very secondary importance. As in other articles of his, the Spanish writer applies the geopolitical framework to take a position: since the dictatorship is an ally of Russia and an enemy of the West, the bad guy has to be the West.

This tendency to whitewash dictatorships with the rhetoric of geopolitics can lead to grotesque situations. Juan Manuel de Prada declares himself Catholic and has many followers among right-wing Catholics and beyond. However, on January 11th he signed an article in ABC whitewashing the Iranian Islamist dictatorship. An article that under normal circumstances should make any Christian nauseous, but which some are already defending because the nonsense of geopolitics is capable of justifying even the greatest monstrosities.

The article begins with this introduction: "In Tehran, just a few months ago, a metro station was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, with reliefs and murals on the walls of rare delicacy." A further example of intellectual simplicity: that dictatorship promotes Islamist terrorism beyond its borders, massacres unarmed protesters, persecutes Christians, hangs homosexuals, and treats women as subhuman beings, yet it has dedicated a metro station to the Virgin Mary and is also an ally of Russia, so De Prada already knows which side to take.

Once again, De Prada invokes the specter of "Anglo-Zionism" to justify the unjustifiable. She insults and calls a young Iranian woman who was arrested and tortured by the Islamist regime a "Canadian firecracker," simply because she is in exile in Canada, even though her entire family remains in Iran. And then he proceeds to whitewash that dictatorship: "Iran is one of the Muslim countries with the highest proportion of women pursuing university studies; it is also a country where Armenian Christians have representation in parliament and can peacefully practice their faith (as was the case in Iraq or Syria, before they were subjected to barbarism)."

Women in Iran suffer appalling discrimination from childhood, being forced to cover their heads with a veil. In September 2022, a young Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, was arrested and tortured for not wearing a veil in Iran. She died as a result of the torture. De Prada doesn't even mention this, because that case would undermine her whitewashing campaign.

Regarding Christians, last year the Christian NGO Open Doors ranked Iran among the ten countries that most persecute Christians, specifically number 9. In this year's Open Doors list, Iran remains on that list of the ten countries that most persecute Christians, in tenth place, and not because the situation has improved, but because Syria has taken the lead. You can read here what Open Doors says about Iran:

"Christians in Iran are heavily and systemically repressed, as the authorities seek to root out what they see as a threat from the West to undermine their Islamic rule.

Converts are most in the firing line. House churches are commonly raided, often followed by arrests, interrogations, pressure to inform on other believers and long-term imprisonment. This is typically under charges of breaching ‘national security’. The conditions in prison are dire and bail sums can be extortionately high, financially paralysing families. For believers who are released, that typically comes with strict conditions, such as exile to another part of Iran, or self-censorship. They can also face hostility from families and local communities. Each year, thousands of converts flee Iran to escape persecution.

Parliament also rushed through a new espionage bill that introduces the death penalty under broad definitions, granting the government sweeping powers to punish perceived dissent. Following the Iran-Israel war, the government now publicly brands converts as spies and collaborators.

Despite being recognised by the state, the historical Armenian and Assyrian Christian communities are treated as second-class citizens, facing discrimination in employment, marriage laws and inheritance laws. They are also banned from using the Persian language in religious activities and for religious materials, and are not allowed to engage with Persian-speaking people in church services. Foreign Christians encounter scrutiny, with some churches having closed after converts attended."

You won't read any of this in Juan Manuel de Prada's article, who has chosen to focus on a subway station used by that dictatorship to improve its image abroad. I wouldn't be surprised if the writer ended up accusing Open Doors of "Anglo-Zionism", as this is his way of discrediting anyone or anything that doesn't fit into his increasingly unrealistic worldview. Like many others on the far right, De Prada is mired in a political paranoia that makes him see shady dealings and sinister intentions everywhere except in dictatorships like Russia and its allies, regimes that have hit the jackpot with those Western fanatics who swallow their lies without question, using excuses like "Anglo-Zionism."

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Photo: Fundación Cajasol.