Geopolitics has become a refuge from which some wretches dedicate themselves to whitewashing criminal regimes.<\/p>\n
This phenomenon has played a significant role in the rapprochement between the far left and the antisemitic far right that I discussed here yesterday<\/a>. People who supposedly defend antagonistic ideological positions end up sharing the same international alliances due to their shared hatreds<\/strong>, 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<\/strong>, adopting positions that years ago it would have considered unthinkable.<\/p>\n I've been giving a clear example of this phenomenon for some time now. Under the guise of geopolitics<\/strong> (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<\/a>, 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<\/strong>, even the most outrageous lies, only to then claim that we are the ones being manipulated.<\/p>\n A few days ago, De Prada signed two articles in Abc<\/strong> (here<\/a> and here<\/a>) talking about Venezuela without offering even the slightest criticism of Nicol\u00e1s Maduro's dictatorship<\/strong> and its brutal human rights violations, focusing all his criticism on the United States<\/strong>. These are two articles that any communist could have written. One of them began like this:<\/p>\n \"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 <\/strong>\".<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n As we can see, for Juan Manuel de Prada, the accusations of human rights violations in Venezuela are \"trifles,\"<\/strong> 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<\/strong>.<\/p>\n This tendency to whitewash dictatorships with the rhetoric of geopolitics can lead to grotesque situations. Juan Manuel de Prada declares himself Catholic<\/a> 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<\/a>. An article that under normal circumstances should make any Christian nauseous<\/strong>, but which some are already defending because the nonsense of geopolitics is capable of justifying even the greatest monstrosities.<\/p>\n The article begins with this introduction: \"In Tehran, just a few months ago, a metro station was dedicated to the Virgin Mary<\/strong>, with reliefs and murals on the walls of rare delicacy.\"<\/em> A further example of intellectual simplicity: that dictatorship promotes Islamist terrorism beyond its borders, massacres unarmed protesters<\/a>, persecutes Christians, hangs homosexuals, and treats women as subhuman beings<\/strong>, 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.<\/p>\n Once again, De Prada invokes the specter of \"Anglo-Zionism\" to justify the unjustifiable.<\/strong> She insults and calls a young Iranian woman who was arrested and tortured by the Islamist regime<\/a> 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:<\/strong> \"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).\"<\/em><\/p>\n Women in Iran suffer appalling discrimination from childhood<\/strong>, 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<\/a>. She died as a result of the torture. De Prada doesn't even mention this<\/strong>, because that case would undermine her whitewashing campaign.<\/p>\n Regarding Christians, last year the Christian NGO Open Doors<\/a> ranked Iran among the ten countries that most persecute Christians<\/a>, specifically number 9. In this year's Open Doors list, Iran remains on that list of the ten countries that most persecute Christians<\/a>, 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<\/a>:<\/p>\n \"Christians in Iran are heavily and systemically repressed<\/strong>, as the authorities seek to root out what they see as a threat from the West to undermine their Islamic rule.<\/p>\n Converts are most in the firing line. House churches are commonly raided<\/strong>, often followed by arrests, interrogations, pressure to inform on other believers and long-term imprisonment<\/strong>. This is typically under charges of breaching \u2018national security\u2019. The conditions in prison are dire and bail sums can be extortionately high<\/strong>, 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/strong><\/p>\n Despite being recognised by the state, the historical Armenian and Assyrian Christian communities are treated as second-class citizens<\/strong>, 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<\/strong>, and are not allowed to engage with Persian-speaking people in church services. Foreign Christians encounter scrutiny<\/strong>, with some churches having closed after converts attended.\"<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n You won't read any of this in Juan Manuel de Prada's article<\/strong>, 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\"<\/strong>, 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<\/strong>, regimes that have hit the jackpot with those Western fanatics who swallow their lies without question, using excuses like \"Anglo-Zionism.\"<\/p>\n ---<\/p>\n
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