STATEMENT
The Odinist Community of Spain is a legal heathen religious denomination duly registered as such by the Spanish government, the fourth worldwide and the first outside Scandinavia. COE-Ásatrú IS NOT a virtual platform on Facebook like others even HUAR. Our community is subject under national laws which explicitly condemn racism and xenophobia, and at this stage whether the allegations were true some of us we’d be in jail. Clear?
We know very few about HUAR but the most recent events make us suspect a clear politicization of the platform, in a clear totalitarian style “you’re with us or against us”, implying a principle of fundamentalism when HUAR try to force us to an only thought. Not all people involved in COE is Folkish, but mostly are, if we survived up to now and expanding nationwide is thanks our main policy: WE TALK ABOUT WHAT UNITED US, NOT WHAT DIVIDES US.
The origin of all misunderstandings did start from the deep differences between Esteban Sevilla of kindred Irminsul from Costa Rica and COE-Ásatrú. Mr. Sevilla was engaged on a serious split we experienced of our former kindred in Madrid, favoring the side of people who left COE so things were getting worse when his statements became a visceral attacks against us. Another conflict provoked another attack of Mr. Sevilla and his “absolute truth”, which led him to the disqualification of other local kindreds and appears to impair his “career” as head of the heathens in Costa Rica. Precisely, it was one of my replies in Spanish, as I insisted that if he could not understand what I was trying to explain, I’ll try to find someone to translate it in some aboriginal dialect of their country (a way to be concise, I mean) so… oh well… here you are!, began his witch hunt and our “racism”.
Before judge and condemn, HUAR should ask and deeply analyze further consequences, because now HUAR has created an enemy thanks to spite, media manipulation and obscene accusations of certain alleged Central American “godi”, by the way a person who was accused of online hacking by a publisher in New York, pending to assess whether carried the matter to court.
We accuse, the screenshots of HUAR are manipulations of Esteban Sevilla, simply “texts out of context as a pretext”. The article about the danger of Islamisation in Europe, quite extensive, mainly refers to the excesses of jihadism and not of such Abrahamic religion itself. The screenshot where I was specifically mentioned, was during the bombing of Gaza by the Israeli army last year and ironically our godi took a picture and publicly posted it (because we have nothing to hide and we do not believe in political correctness) using a Jewish kipah and stated that “I felt nothing, good nor bad, with that on my head,” a form of denouncing the injustice of some who suffered for decades and act as executioners indiscriminately today. In our internal forums some of us said that this kind of humor could be not well interpreted, as it is. And so on… no need to give greater prominence to who does not deserve it.
COE intended to contact HUAR, but our posts in Facebook have been constantly deleted and some friendly people questioning on our favour blocked without prior notice. So in front of being unable to post, have not the chance to defend ourselves or contact them, the only and last way to spread our word was the public confrontation as we did.
In the other side, HUAR does not accept any good nor bad Folkish opinion. All Folkish are simply racist for them. Our origin and foundation dates back to the times of Else Christensen who was a prisoner of war by the Nazis, who was also accused of racist by her Folkish perspective so we feel very proud of this. HUAR has lost its way, definitely; with their fundamentalism, we are convinced that HUAR has no further reason to exist. Heathens (seriously?) on the hunt of heathens, that is inquisitorial, is obscene.
This is the truth and my word is HONOR.
Blessings!
Jerry da Silva Matz
Gilwellian hinn austræni
Lagman, legal adviser
COE-Ásatrú