This work traverses three pivotal human rights struggles of the post-September 11th era. It presents snapshots of human rights being appropriated, promoted, claimed, reclaimed, and contested within and between the American and Middle Eastern contexts.

American imaginings of human rights and the Middle East -- The human rights challenge from within -- The Middle Eastern gaze on American human rights commitments -- American imprints and the Middle East's new human rights landscape -- From the ashes of the post-September 11th era : lessons for the human rights project.