A Worried Regime

21 September 2022

 

Cogito Ergo Non Serviam

Iran Morality Police Kill Woman Prisoner, Spark Protests

 

The Iranian Revolution enforces its vision of Islam in part through the use of a morality police force. Officially known as the Gasht-e-Ershad (roughly the Guidance Patrol), these guys make a living by ensuring Iranians in 2022 behave as they would in an idealized version of Islamic paradise on Earth circa 1022. Women must cover their hair, or they face arrest. This is what happened to a young Kurdish woman named Mahsa Amini. The 22-year-old was arrested for wearing unsuitable attire (a broad catch-all term to be sure), she died in police custody hours later. For the last five days, the streets in Iran have seen protests and hijab burnings. The government is so scared that it has promised to look into the matter rather than simply crackdown.

This journal opposes the revolutionary regime in Iran as a matter of principle. Religious belief can help people find meaning in their lives, but at the same time, it can be a source of oppression. This journal believes Iran was better off under the Shah, not because he was a good ruler or even a decent human being. The greatness of the pre-revolutionary regime was its secular nature.

Reuters reports, "She was with her brother in Tehran when she was arrested by morality police, who accused her of breaking the law requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf, and their arms and legs with loose clothing. She fell into the coma shortly after collapsing at a detention centre.

"There were reports that police beat Ms Amini\'s head with a baton and banged her head against one of their vehicles, Acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada al-Nashif said.

"The police have denied that she was mistreated and said she suffered \'sudden heart failure\'. But her family has said she was fit and healthy."

While it is within the realms of possibility that she did die as the police say, many are convinced that they killed her. Protests in several cities have been met with force, and the current body count is 7. At least, three of the dead are men. That suggets that the protests are not just about Ms. Amini but rather her murder has opened the door to the airing of many grievances.

Naturally, the authorities have not commented on the killings. Usually, they would let the local security forces slap the protesters around until everyone got tired and went home. But the chants of "death to the dictator" and "justice, liberty, no to mandatory hijab" have them sweating a bit.

The BBC reports, "An aide to Iran\'s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei paid a visit to Ms Amini\'s family on Monday and told them that \'all institutions will take action to defend the rights that were violated\', state media reported."

"Senior MP Jalal Rashidi Koochi publicly criticised the morality police, saying the force was a \'mistake\' as it had only produced \'loss and damage\' for Iran."

This is typical of a dictatorship in self-defense mode. The dictator is a great guy who just does not know what is going on. He is surrounded by evil advisors. He is being betrayed by his cabinet. The same was said of Stalin, Hitler, all the Tsars and the kings and queens of medieval Europe.

The problem, of course, is the Supreme Leader himself, Ayatollah Khamenei. He is running a nasty, vicious regime that kills young women for how they dress. When he stops, there might be some hope for Iran. It is up to him.

© Copyright 2022 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.



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