Middle East

Imam Johari Abdul-Malik (center), of Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Northern Virginia, speaks alongside other leaders of the Muslim community during a December 2015 news conference in Washington, D.C., about growing "Islamophobia" in the United States.

Push To Name Muslim Brotherhood A Terrorist Group Worries U.S. Offshoots

8:35pm March 24, 2017

by Tom Gjelten

Some Islamic institutions in the U.S. were founded by brotherhood members or sympathizers. Community leaders say ties with the Islamist movement were cut long ago; conservatives suspect otherwise.

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World News

Former Egyptian President Mubarak Freed From Detention

4:32pm March 24, 2017

by Jane Arraf

Egypt's former President Hosni Mubarak is a free man for the first time in six years. He was freed from house arrest at a military hospital after being cleared of claims he ordered Arab Spring protesters shot.

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World News

Former Egyptian Leader Mubarak Released

1:07pm March 24, 2017

by Jane Arraf

Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was freed Friday morning after six years in detention. His lawyers say he has left a military hospital where he has essentially been under house arrest.

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Sandi Toksvig on the TED Stage at TEDWomen 2016 in San Francisco, California.

Sandi Toksvig: Can Social Change Start With Laughter?

9:10am March 24, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

When comedian and TV host Sandi Toksvig came out as gay in the early 1990s, she used humor to recover from the onslaught of vitriol.Today, she says, humor can help bring about social change.

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Maysoon Zayid: Should Humor Make Us Uncomfortable?

9:10am March 24, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

Maysoon Zayid teases herself for all the ways she's different: she has cerebral palsy, she's Muslim, she's Palestinian. By making us laugh at it, she gets us to think about acceptance.

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Negin Farsad on the TED stage at TED2016 in Vancouver, Canada.

Negin Farsad: Can Humor Fight Prejudice?

9:10am March 24, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

Comedian Negin Farsad traveled all over the U.S. to clear up misconceptions about Islam while making people laugh. She calls this form of activism "social justice comedy."

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After a prosecutor issued an order for Hosni Mubarak's release earlier this month, a group of people gathered in front of the Al Maadi Hospital in Cairo to celebrate.

World News

Mubarak Walks Free, In What Could Be The Final Twist For Egypt's Former Dictator

8:19am March 24, 2017

by Bill Chappell

Hosni Mubarak, 88 and ailing, was acquitted by Egypt's top appeals court of charges that he ordered police to kill anti-government protesters in 2011.

U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, made up of an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters, regroup on the northern outskirts of Deir Ezzor as they advance to encircle the ISIS bastion of Raqqa on Feb. 21.

Big Changes And Major Dilemmas Loom In Next Phase Of ISIS War In Syria

9:21pm March 23, 2017

The U.S. considers deploying hundreds more American troops to Syria in the final phase of the war against ISIS — one that could reshape borders and relationships in the Middle East.

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Israeli Teenager Arrested In Connection To Bomb Threats Against Jewish Centers

9:21pm March 23, 2017

by Daniel Estrin

An Israeli teenager has been arrested in connection with a series of bomb threats made to American Jewish community centers and other organizations. Police described the suspect as a hacker whose motives are unclear.

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Dr. Hussam Jefee-Bahloul, right, reads one of his poems for Ta'sheeq, a project he founded to help Syrian poets and artists share their experiences.

Health & Safety

Who Will Listen To The Suffering Syrians?

5:35pm March 23, 2017

by Deb Amos

The conflict has created chronic mental pain in a country with few mental health specialists. Dr. Hassum Jefee-Bahloul, a Syrian psychiatrist who now lives in the U.S., has a plan to help.