10/14/2026 Forum Plus - From Xinjiang to Syria: A Conversation with NPR’s Emily Feng

Published October 14, 2026 at 4:05 AM MDT

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Beginning more than a decade ago, thousands of Uyghurs fled repression in Xinjiang, the region of western China many consider their homeland and call East Turkestan. Many eventually made their way to Syria, where they became fighters in the civil war and helped the rebel forces that overthrew Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

It is a remarkable story, and one that remains surprisingly little known.

NPR White House Correspondent Emily Feng joins Jim Falk to discuss her new book, Our Hearts Burned for Home: Uyghur Militants in Syria’s Civil War. Drawing on extensive reporting in China and Syria and conversations with Uyghur fighters and their families, Feng explains why they left China, how some became affiliated with Islamist militant groups, and what motivated them to fight in a war thousands of miles from their ancestral home.

The conversation also looks at the families now building lives in Syria are trying to preserve their Uyghur identity for themselves and their children.

Host: Jim Falk

Guest: Emily Feng, NPR White House Correspondent & Author, Our Hearts Burned for Home: Uyghur Militants in Syria’s Civil War.