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A people without a country in a country at war
What drove a few thousand men and women from the deserts and cities of western China to the front lines of Syria’s war? Journalist Emily Feng unearths the untold story of Uyghur exiles who fled China’s expanding police state—only to become a pivotal force behind the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. At the heart of this narrative is a startling paradox: Beijing’s repression, meant to crush dissent, instead scattered and radicalized a generation.
Tracing their journey from the crushed protests of 1990s Xinjiang to the Islamist battlegrounds of Idlib, this book reveals how a campaign of surveillance and cultural erasure, as well as turmoil in the Middle East, gave rise to a Uyghur militant movement far from home. Through vivid reporting and rare access to fighters and families, Feng, along with Uyghur writer Abduweli Ayup, explores how these Uyghurs, controversially, embraced armed resistance—and how their stateless revolution now shapes Syria’s fragile future.
What drove a few thousand men and women from the deserts and cities of western China to the front lines of Syria’s war? Journalist Emily Feng unearths the untold story of Uyghur exiles who fled China’s expanding police state—only to become a pivotal force behind the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. At the heart of this narrative is a startling paradox: Beijing’s repression, meant to crush dissent, instead scattered and radicalized a generation.
Tracing their journey from the crushed protests of 1990s Xinjiang to the Islamist battlegrounds of Idlib, this book reveals how a campaign of surveillance and cultural erasure, as well as turmoil in the Middle East, gave rise to a Uyghur militant movement far from home. Through vivid reporting and rare access to fighters and families, Feng, along with Uyghur writer Abduweli Ayup, explores how these Uyghurs, controversially, embraced armed resistance—and how their stateless revolution now shapes Syria’s fragile future.
Price: $18.00
Pages: 128
Publisher: Columbia Global Reports
Imprint: Columbia Global Reports
Publication Date:
13 October 2026
Trim Size: 7.50 X 5.00 in
ISBN: 9781967190188
Format: Paperback
BISACs:
POLITICAL SCIENCE / Religion, Politics & State, Public administration / Public policy, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Human Rights, HISTORY / Middle East / Syria, HISTORY / Asia / China, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Race & Ethnic Relations, Administrative jurisdiction & public administration, Central / national / federal government
“Our Hearts Burned for Home is an essential addition to the literature of the Middle East, filling a void in our understanding of the region. It’s an important story meticulously told.” —Barbara Demick, author of Daughters of the Bamboo Grove
“Emily Feng ventured into the aftermath of the Syrian civil war and came back cradling a unique, fascinating tale of resistance fighters in exile. Our Hearts Burned for Home finally captures their story in vivid, unprecedented detail. Along the way, it opens a rare window into the anxieties, anguish, and hard choices that come with fighting in a strange land for a distant cause.” —Josh Chin, coauthor of Surveillance State: Inside China’s Quest to Launch a New Era of Social Control
“What a gem. I couldn’t put down Emily Feng’s riveting book about the Uyghur foreign fighters in Syria. She gives us a bird’s-eye view into the secretive world of this powerful community of some 20,000. The Uyghurs played a key role in overthrowing Assad. Will they find their way to liberate their own homeland from China or will they settle for Syria? Emily Feng gives life and voice to Syria’s foreign fighters.” —Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, author of the blog Syria Comment
“China’s authoritarian turn has forced millions to flee the country, but few of these stories are as consequential as the Uyghurs who became elite fighters in Syria. Through superb reporting and an eye for human detail, Emily Feng has written a For Whom the Bell Tolls for our day—a story of courage, fortitude, and a willingness to defy the odds in the global battle against autocracy.” —Ian Johnson, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Sparks, The Souls of China, and Wild Grass
“Emily Feng ventured into the aftermath of the Syrian civil war and came back cradling a unique, fascinating tale of resistance fighters in exile. Our Hearts Burned for Home finally captures their story in vivid, unprecedented detail. Along the way, it opens a rare window into the anxieties, anguish, and hard choices that come with fighting in a strange land for a distant cause.” —Josh Chin, coauthor of Surveillance State: Inside China’s Quest to Launch a New Era of Social Control
“What a gem. I couldn’t put down Emily Feng’s riveting book about the Uyghur foreign fighters in Syria. She gives us a bird’s-eye view into the secretive world of this powerful community of some 20,000. The Uyghurs played a key role in overthrowing Assad. Will they find their way to liberate their own homeland from China or will they settle for Syria? Emily Feng gives life and voice to Syria’s foreign fighters.” —Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, author of the blog Syria Comment
“China’s authoritarian turn has forced millions to flee the country, but few of these stories are as consequential as the Uyghurs who became elite fighters in Syria. Through superb reporting and an eye for human detail, Emily Feng has written a For Whom the Bell Tolls for our day—a story of courage, fortitude, and a willingness to defy the odds in the global battle against autocracy.” —Ian Johnson, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Sparks, The Souls of China, and Wild Grass