After Abu Ghraib: exploring human rights in America and the Middle East PDF
Preview After Abu Ghraib: exploring human rights in America and the Middle East
This page intentionally left blank AFTER ABU GHRAIB ExploringHumanRightsinAmericaandtheMiddleEast Thisbooktraversesthreepivotalhumanrightsstrugglesofthepost–September 11thera:theAmericanhumanrightscampaigntochallengetheBushadminis- tration’s“WaronTerror”tortureanddetentionpolicies,MiddleEasternefforts tochallengeAmericanhumanrightspractices(reversingthetraditionalWestto East flow of human rights mobilizations and discourses), and Middle Eastern attempts to challenge their own leaders’ human rights violations in light of American interventions. This book presents snapshots of human rights being appropriated,promoted,claimed,reclaimed,andcontestedwithinandbetween theAmericanandMiddleEasterncontexts.Theinquiryhasthreefacets:First,it exploresintersectionsbetweenhumanrightsnormsandpowerastheyunfoldin theera.Second,itlaysoutthelayersoftheera’sAmericanandMiddleEastern encounteronthehumanrightsplane.Finally,itdrawsouttheera’skeylessons formovingthehumanrightsprojectforward. ShadiMokhtariisanindependentscholarandhumanrightsattorney.Shecur- rentlyworkswithadomesticviolencenonprofitorganizationintheWashington D.C. area and serves as the managing editor of the Muslim World Journal of HumanRights.SheholdsPhDandLLMdegreesfromOsgoodeHallLawSchool, YorkUniversity;aJDfromtheUniversityofTexasSchoolofLaw;amaster’sin internationalaffairs from Columbia University;anda BAfrom American Uni- versity.ShehastaughtasanadjunctprofessoratOsgoodeHallLawSchooland hascontributedchapterstobooks,includingIslamicLawandInternationalLaw (“TheIranianSearchforHumanRightswithinanIslamicFramework”)(2007), IslamicFeminismandtheLaw(“TowardsaNewAgendaforIslamicFeminism: Clearing the Human Rights Minefield”) (2008), and Migrant Women’s Search forSocialJustice(“MigrantWomen’sInterestsandtheCaseofShari’aTribunals inOntario”)(2009).In2006,shewasselectedasa“newvoices”panelistatthe AmericanAssociationofInternationalLawConferenceandwasawardedhon- orable mention for the John Peter Humphreys Fellowship from the Canadian CouncilonInternationalLaw. CAMBRIDGESTUDIESINLAWANDSOCIETY CambridgeStudiesinLawandSocietyaimstopublishthebestscholarlywork onlegaldiscourseandpracticeinitssocialandinstitutionalcontexts,combining theoreticalinsightsandempiricalresearch. The fields that it covers are: studies of law in action; the sociology of law; the anthropology of law; cultural studies of law, including the role of legal discoursesinsocialformations;lawandeconomics;lawandpolitics;andstudies ofgovernance.Thebooksconsiderallformsoflegaldiscourseacrosssocieties, ratherthanbeinglimitedtolawyers’discoursesalone. Theserieseditorscomefromarangeofdisciplines:academiclaw;socio-legal studies;sociology;andanthropology.Allhavebeenactivelyinvolvedinteaching andwritingaboutlawincontext. Serieseditors ChrisArupMonashUniversity,Victoria MartinChanockLaTrobeUniversity,Melbourne PatO’MalleyUniversityofSydney SallyEngleMerryNewYorkUniversity SusanSilbeyMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology BooksintheSeries DiseasesoftheWill MarianaValverde ThePoliticsofTruthandReconciliationinSouthAfrica LegitimizingthePost-ApartheidState RichardA.Wilson ModernismandtheGroundsofLaw PeterFitzpatrick UnemploymentandGovernment GenealogiesoftheSocial WilliamWalters AutonomyandEthnicity NegotiatingCompetingClaimsinMulti-EthnicStates YashGhai ConstitutingDemocracy Law,GlobalismandSouthAfrica’sPoliticalReconstruction HeinzKlug TheRitualofRightsinJapan Law,Society,andHealthPolicy EricA.Feldman Continuedonpagefollowingtheindex After Abu Ghraib EXPLORING HUMAN RIGHTS IN AMERICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST Shadi Mokhtari CAMBRIDGEUNIVERSITYPRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521767538 © Shadi Mokhtari 2009 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published in print format 2009 ISBN-13 978-0-511-57990-5 eBook (EBL) ISBN-13 978-0-521-76753-8 Hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. To my father, Rahim Mokhtari, and my mother, Guiti Assadi, for their burning passion for the realization of justice and human dignity in their native Iran, in their adopted United States, and throughout the world. Contents Acknowledgments pageviii Abbreviations ix 1 Introduction ONE AmericanImaginingsofHumanRightsandthe MiddleEast 21 TWO TheHumanRightsChallengefromWithin 63 THREE TheMiddleEasternGazeonAmericanHumanRights Commitments 113 FOUR AmericanImprintsandtheMiddleEast’sNewHuman RightsLandscape 150 FIVE FromtheAshesofthePost–September11thEra: LessonsfortheHumanRightsProject 200 Conclusion 237 Bibliography 245 Index 249 vii Acknowledgments I am greatly indebted to family, friends, colleagues, and mentors for their supportandassistanceinthecompletionofthisbook.Firstandforemost,I wouldliketothankSusanDrummondforherenduringencouragementand invaluable input throughout the process. At every point at which I felt the projectwassimplytooambitiousandimpossibletocomplete,itwasSusan who convinced me to get back in front of my computer and start the next chapter. I also thank Obiora Okafor and Annie Bunting for their guidance andfeedbackthroughoutmytenureatOsgoodeHallLawSchool. I must also express my gratitude to all the people who assisted me throughout myfieldwork. Thisprojectwouldnothavebeen possiblewith- outthetremendousinsightsprovidedbytheAmericanandMiddleEastern humanrightsactivists,journalists,andgovernmentofficialswhograciously offered me their time, experiences, and perspectives. I would also like to thankAnbaraAbuAyyash,DavidCole,GregoryDeanJohnson,GalilNoa- man,WendyPatten,andCharlesSchmitz,whoeachprovidedvaluableleads and assistance with some aspect of the field research. My work in Yemen alsobenefitedimmenselyfromtheinterpretationassistanceofBaraaShiban. Finally, I would like to thank my husband, Peyman Khalichi, for his immenseenthusiasmformyworkandforhiswillingnesstoalwaysengage withtheissuesandideasencompassedinthisproject.Iamalsogratefulfor thesupportofmybrotherRohmteenMokhtari,whoneverceasestoamaze me with wisdom beyond his years. His spirit serves as inspiration for the optimismandhopeweavedintothiswork. viii
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