A/HRC/4/19 page 16 is a sobering example of these two manifestations, both in his repeated statements that the State of Israel should be eradicated and in his organization of a conference questioning the truth of the extermination of the European Jews by Nazi Germany. By organizing this conference, he demonstrated his intention to legitimize the revisionism of other forms of racism, in particular by inviting, in addition to prominent figures in European anti-Semitic revisionism, symbols of anti-black racism in the United States of America, such as one of the historical leaders of the American Ku Klux Klan. The main intellectual and ideological platform of this historical racist movement in the United States is the racial inferiority of black people and the need for their physical elimination, which has resulted not only in the murder of many African-Americans, but which also still profoundly influences the attitudes and actions of groups and individuals campaigning for a “white America”, from which not only black people but also Arabs, Asians and citizens with an Asiatic appearance, including Iranians, would be excluded. 41. The rise of Christianophobia is an irrefutable fact in a number of European, Asian and South American countries. There are three main reasons for Christianophobia. First, in Europe, the cultural pervasiveness of dogmatic secularism, which is historically based on opposition to the political, cultural and ethical pre-eminence of Christianity, under the guise of modernization, the market and globalization, leads not only to an anti-religious culture, but also to intolerance of any religious practice, expression or sign. Recent illustrations of this are the decline in religious practices, cultural impertinence towards and mockery of Christian figures and symbols in the name of freedom of speech, and the reluctance - if not the refusal - to accept the legitimacy of a religious ethic in the fundamental choices and discussions of society. Secondly, the identification of the West with Christianity, owing to their historical closeness during the era of European colonization and current political and intellectual rhetoric about the Christian identity of Europe, and opposition to Turkey’s admission to the European Union, foster anti-Christian sentiment in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Lastly, the proselytism of certain evangelical groups, particularly those from North America, is provoking resistance and hostility towards Christianity in South America, Africa and Asia. The demonization by certain evangelical groups in South America of Amerindian and African spiritual religions and traditions, such as candomblé in Brazil, as well as Hinduism or Buddhism in India, is leading to increasingly violent manifestations of Christianophobia. C. Multiculturalism and racism 42. The main problem in most societies today lies in the profound contradiction between the nation-State - the expression of an exclusive national identity - and the dynamic of multiculturalization at work in such societies. The resurgence of racism and xenophobia results from the politicization and the intellectual legitimization of the rejection of diversity and multiculturalism. Multicultural dynamics reveal two main aspects of discrimination: the economic, social and political aspect and the role of national identity constructs. In multicultural societies, the equating of social, economic and political marginalization to ethnic, cultural and religious diversity is indicative of the fundamental role of racism and discrimination in the structure of society. However, multicultural processes also drastically alter national identity constructs, which exclude the identities of national, ethnic, cultural and religious minorities and immigrants. Racist and xenophobic platforms are therefore based on the rhetoric of “defence of national identity and national values”. In most parts of the world, this identity

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