Human rights activism and salafi-jihadi violence

The legal defence and high-profile campaigning by progressive human rights organisations representing or working on behalf of Al Qaeda fighters and supporters has generated furious debate internationally over the past decade. In the context of a rights-based perspective, this article explores two case studies, one related to a United States progressive, human rights delegation’s visit to Pakistan to protest drone strikes, and another focusing on the activities of a self-described human rights organisation working in the United Kingdom for those detained during the ‘global war on terror’. The article focuses on the left-wing and progressive arguments related to these two cases to examine some broader issues about the orientation of the political left to political violence, the nature of reactive human rights approaches to imperialism and war, and the prospects for more visionary orientations regarding human rights and political change.