Psychologists usually warn that it is a bad idea to sweep problems under the rug, because the hidden always comes back, and it usually does so in its worst version. This principle can also be applied, with caution, to social realities, and allows us to interpret the Islamist attack on several churches in Algeciras this Wednesday as the outbreak of an ignored reality, which was already there, but which has not wanted to be looked at. the face, or to which we have not wanted to give the importance it deserves.
A policeman scrutinizes the crime scene in Algeciras.
In this case, however, it will not be possible to hide the incident in any drawer, or belittle it with jokes or irony, because the attack (which the National Court is investigating as a possible act of terrorism) has ended with one death, that of the sacristan of the Church of Our Lady of La Palma, Diego Valenciaand a wounded, the parish priest of the chapel of San Isidro, antonio rodriguez.
The National Police still does not know the motivations of the attacker, the 26-year-old Moroccan yassine, although when one goes around the world with a large machete, no bad end can be ruled out. At first it was published that the attack was focused on the images of the temples and that the initial intention was not to kill, although this information has not yet been confirmed or ruled out.
Attacks against religious symbols proliferate throughout Europe, especially in France, where two churches are desecrated every day, with attacks ranging from the mutilation of images to arson, according to 2019 data that has certainly not diminished in recent years. .
The news media usually do not want to pay attention to these incidents on European soil, nor to the constant and growing attacks against Christians throughout the world, especially in African and Asian countries where they are a minority.
“When there is a death, we discover that our lack of interest coexists with the more aggressive feelings of others who reside among us”
We know that this is the case because there are organizations such as Aid to the Church in Need, or L’Observatoire de la Christianophobie, among others, which produce periodic reports to try to warn, with little success outside the ecclesial world, of a reality that is growing, but that doesn’t matter too much.
The new deconsecrated West seems to want to get rid of even the memory of religion that was so decisive for it to get to where it is, and which it regards today with disdain and disinterest, as one looks at a suit that is considered out of fashion and that is abandoned. in the darkest part of the closet.
Until there is a death. And then we discover that the contempt and disinterest of ours coexists with other more aggressive feelings of others who reside among us. And we wonder how this could happen in a society like ours, so concerned about all the ills of the world.
[Editorial: El islam español debe cooperar para evitar futuros crímenes yihadistas]
But reality shows that our sensitivity towards problems is selective and that it is conditioned by the ideological vision that prevails at the moment. A vision, let’s call it “progressive”, which proclaims that there are dimensions of reality that must be shown at all costs, even exaggerating their importance, because they help us to become “aware” of certain “important” problems, while others (particularly those that are refer to immigrants) they must be silenced so that they cannot be “used to generate xenophobia”.
So that knowledge is evaluated as positive or negative depending on the case, and there are realities that we know too much about (and that makes us believe that the problem is more serious than it corresponds) while we are underinformed and defenseless about others. And both are wrong attitudes.
Hiding reality is never a solution. Exaggerate it either. It seems clear that, for now, the problems with Islamic immigration in our country do not reach the magnitude that they already have in other European countries such as France, and that many discovered thanks to the Champions League final in the Parisian neighborhood of Saint Denis.
[La Policía investiga como terrorismo yihadista el ataque con machete en una iglesia de Algeciras]
But even so, they have a relevance that does not stop growing and against which we must protect ourselves. With an adequate security policy, of course. But also with knowledge. With information that avoids euphemisms and allows us to understand where we are at all times.
After all, that is what it is about, knowing the ground we are on, although, of course, exceptional events, such as we hope this will be, will always take us by surprise.
*** Vidal Arranz is a journalist.
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