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Sona Kumar (26110247)

Farhana Shehzad instructor

WnC SS-100

3 November 2022

A critique on “how much trouble is Iran’s ruling regime in? Why the Mahsa Amini movement is

different from previous protests.”

A native of New York City and graduate of Oberlin College US, Keating is a writer and

analyst. He focuses on world news and foreign policy. As a world affairs reporter, he has written

the article regarding the problems that iran ruling regime faced after the Mahsa amini movement.

Keating considers the Iranian government accountable for all the past distress and failures, both

economically and politically, including the Mahsa Amini incident. He believes that the Mahsa

Amini movement has the required rage, which makes it a revolution that can bring an explicit

change in the ruling regime of Iran. The intense outbreak of the Mahsa Amini movement was

because of a 22-year-old girl, Jina Amini, sudden death who was arrested for wearing

inappropriate clothes by the morality police. After three days of collapse in the morality

detention center, she died in a Kasra hospital in Tehran, the capital of Iran. The incident raises an

essential question about the freedom of women’s attire which specific communities and countries

still need to answer. A US Washington-based news publication, Grid aims to capture these

events and provide a clear and deep understanding of the world around them. In the article,

Keating's failure to acknowledge opposing viewpoints, usage of few credible sources, and

inability to recognize the relevancy of text have weakened the credibility of his arguments;
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however, the structure is focused, well-supported evidence and use of engaging questions,

sentences, and ideas make the article cogent and convincing.

The article is based on death of 22-year-old girl for wearing inappropriate clothes. Her

death became the voice of every individual, leading to the creation of a movement and

revolution. This revolution demands a new approach towards freedom of women's attire. It has

spread worldwide that people share solitary moments with the people of Iran. The Iranian

government, already the victim of economic misery and political distress, has failed to stop this

revolution. The purpose of Keating is to portray the cause and effects of Amini movement and

convince the audience about the failure of the Iranian government to function properly. Although

the article's source is grid news, a US Washington-based newspaper, it captures a broader

audience not specific to US natives.   

One of the weaknesses of Keating’s article is the one-sided approach. He failed to

mention the viewpoint of the Iranian government and instead focuses on the protest movement.

Throughout the article, he criticizes the Iran government for its failure in the political system and

economic sustainability. He has blamed Iran's ruling regime by saying “the country has endured

flash floods, droughts, and punishing heat”(Keating 4) but these are factors that the government

can hardly control. Considering a young 22-year-old Kurdish girl, Jhina incident, he has

mentioned the photos and videos of the bruises on her head lying in the hospital. However, he

did not mention camera footage captured by Iran’s state media in which Mahsa Amini was

collapsing at the re-education center when she received guidance on attire. This show that

Keating emphasizes more on the Amini incident rather than the Iranian government’s point of

view. He has said that cause of Amini's death is an unspecified violation and beaten. However,

according to France 24 newspaper, an Iranian forensic came with the statement that the cause of
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death was surgery of a brain tumor at the age of eight (France 24). He mentioned that 185 people

had been killed in the protest, but he did not mention the 26 deaths by security forces (Hafezi).

He also did not account for Khamenei's promise of a thorough investigation into Amini's death,

said Iran's semi-official Nour news agency. It is how he failed to acknowledge opposing

viewpoints.

One of Keating’s article’s weaknesses is the use of few competent opinions and

interpretations from credible sources. One of the sources is Hadi ghaemi, an internationally

recognized expert and director for Iran's human rights. Ghaemi has used specific phrases like

"uphill battle," "target the heart of Islam," and "nuclear negotiation" to highlight the consequence

of protests following the death of Amini and the lost legitimacy of the Iran government. The

word "uphill battle" shows how protestors fight against the government to secure their rights. It

is uncertain how long this battle will last, but it certainly has potential. But he hasn’t mentioned

the government’s promise of a thorough investigation of Amini’s death. Ghaemi has drawn

similarities between Amini’s movement and previous movements in Iran's political history, from

the Pahlavi dynasty to the green movement. He said that all those revolutions changed Iran's

whole ruling regime. But he didn’t mention what political change this revolution will bring. By

mentioning "target the heart of Islamic republic," Gharmi means that the protests demand the

explicit change of political system. Apart from the political system, the people in the protest have

shown no religious respect for the place. They have only one incentive which is the change of

political system. But he didn’t mention that sudden changes in the political system will only lead

to economic problems. Ghaemi also talks about nuclear uncertainty. He has blamed the

opposition of the Iran government that contributed to the country's woes by placing sanctions.

There is ambiguity concerning nuclear negotiation, which further adds to logical disorder.
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Ghaemi has fulfilled his job by reiterating the importance of the rights of the people of Iran.

Keating has given the views of Abdullah Mohtadi, exiled head of the Iranian Kurdish group,

about the prohibition of the Islamic republic in Iran. Keating has given rob Malley's views, as an

envoy of Iran, about the US nuclear deal with Iran. However, opinions are unavoidable in such

cases; opinions presented in the article lack a 360 approach to telling stories through multiple

lenses.

The third weakness of Keating is the irrelevancy of the text in terms of context. Although

the topic and title are oriented toward the Mahsa amini movement, he has dedicated several

paragraphs to the other irrelevant contextual factors. As the second paragraph is solely dedicated

to Iran's political crisis such as the outbreak green movement and the massive increase of gas in

2019 due to repressive protests. Keating did not connect these events with the Mahsa amini

movement, as he said in the title “Why Mahsa amini movement is different from previous

protests”(Keating 1). Keating has used the phrase "one in three Iranian -now- lives in poverty"

(3) and has drawn no connection with the cause of Amini's movement or its effect. The cause of

this movement was the sudden death of young Kurdish women after being taken into morality

police custody, and its effects resulted in the illegitimacy of the Iranian government. It portrays

Iran as an oppressive religious country. Although he has mentioned the plummeting gross

domestic product (GDP), ongoing droughts, floods, water shortage, and lingering economic

distress, he fails to draw a logical and credible connection between them. However, the article

revolves around the failure of the Iranian government to manage the situation, and dedicating the

whole paragraph to the leadership transition of the Iran government hinders from communicating

the text's primary purpose. Keating's use of phrases like "body of 88 Islamic jurists," "no clarity
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about the process," and "fueling -probably- broader anxiety" (Keating 6) has little or no

contribution to the relevancy of the main topic.

Keating's approach to having a focused and attentive structure makes his article more

engaging. He follows a cohesive structure of ideas. In the article, he started with the effects of

Amini's movement and how a group of young people with no leader has been able to create a

wave of political uncertainty. To make the introduction engaging, he has built a connection with

the audience by saying “solidarity marches against the -Iran- regime has taken place in cities

around the world” (Keating 4) worldwide and that everyone is involved in advocating the

grievance. It is spread across ethnic and class divisions, and the intensity of anger can be sensed

by the chants of protestors, "Death to the dictator." The protesters portray a clear message of

changing the government. After discussing the effects, Keating started the causes of the

movement. In which he talked about the origin of the movement, and its effects on governmental

laws and policies. He talked about how people around the world have responded to this

movement. Are the protests capable enough to bring change in the ruling regime of Iran?

Keating has maintained the article's credibility by answering these rhetorical questions.

One of the highlighting factors of Keating's article is the usage of well-supported

evidence. Keating has used reliable resources to strengthen his arguments in two ways: through

statistical representation and by referencing reliable sources. For example. “According to a

Norway-based group of Iran human rights, 185 people have been killed in the protest, including

19 children, as of Oct 8” (Keating 3). Keating uses this data to show the increasingly intense

atmosphere and instability lingering over the country. Keating has kept his article in circulation

with the sources and references. It provides an academic lens to investigate the issue surrounding

the world. It gives the ability to generate ideas and interpretations and how to support them—
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ultimately helping the reader identify the main ideas and their supporting evidence. He has

provided sources even when covering minor details such as the song "Baraye" to the potential

part such as nationwide adoption of the slogan "women, life, freedom”. The purpose of providing

these sources is to show the credibility and authority of the text.

Although each heading of the article answers the rhetorical question, Keating has still

explicitly used specific phrases, questions, and ideas to make his audience aware of the process.

As Keating mentioned, “how much trouble Is Iran's ruling regime really in?” (Keating 3) he

wanted his audience to analyze the effects of this sudden outbreak of movement, which has

brought the Iran government to a disastrous step. It has lost its legitimacy. The movement has

unveiled the existing political system of Iran. Also, through the phrase "women, life, freedom,"

Keating focuses on the point that the protest is no more specific to Iran but has crossed ethnic

boundaries. World leaders have condemned the Iran government for its unethical actions,

generating awareness and showing solitude towards Iran people. Keating also mentioned the

phrase that it is not a protest anymore. It is a revolution now." The slogan itself shows

enthusiasm among the young protestors. It creates a sense of elevation among them to stand by

unity against any discrimination and slavery. In the last part of his article, Keating implied the

idea, phrase, and question that I [Keating] think this[protest] is a revolution but maybe an

opening chapter of it.

All in all, Keating's article engages the audience to read the article till the end. He has

presented the Iranian governmental issues that have been ignited by the outbreak of the Amini

movement, and the government’s failure to handle the situation This implies that Keating can

convince the audience through his arguments. To persuade the audience, the article is equipped

with the required modes, such as description, analysis, and exemplification. Keating has
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achieved his purpose by choosing to stay with the central thesis that the Amini movement has

portrayed the actual image of the Iranian government. In doing so, Keating failed by a one-sided

approach, using few credible sources and his ability to recognize the relevancy of the text.
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Work cited

Iranian woman dies after being arrested by morality police, sparking protests (2022)

NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal News Group. Available at:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/iranian-woman-dies-arrested-morality-police-

sparking-protests-rcna48135 (Accessed: November 3, 2022).

Keating, J. (2022) How much trouble is Iran's ruling regime in? why the Mahsa Amini

movement is different than previous protests., Grid News. Grid News. Available at:

https://www.grid.news/story/global/2022/10/12/how-much-trouble-is-irans-ruling-regime-

in-why-the-mahsa-amini-movement-is-different-than-previous-protests/ (Accessed:

November 3, 2022).

Person and Hafezi, P. (2022) Khamenei warns Islamic Republic is a 'mighty tree' that cannot be

uprooted, Reuters. Thomson Reuters. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-

east/iranian-police-deploy-unrest-continues-four-weeks-after-mahsa-amini-death-2022-10-

14/ (Accessed: November 3, 2022).

World Affairs Council of Northern California (no date) World Affairs Council. Available at:

https://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/speaker-directory/joshua-keating (Accessed:

November 3, 2022).
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