America Abroad: Fighting Extremism on Middle East Media

Abdifatah Ahmed, who joined ISIS in 2013, holds a black flag used by ISIS.
Abdifatah Ahmed, who joined ISIS in late 2013, holds a black flag used by ISIS. The flag has the "shahada," or the testimony of faith that reads: "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger."
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There's a vast media landscape in the Middle East — and radical Islamists have used it to spread their violent ideology.

But in the past few years, new broadcasters have taken up the fight, using their bully pulpit to fight back. On this episode of America Abroad, we take a look at what that fight looks like.

We hear about new television shows that lampoon ISIS, liberal religious clerics who are finding new ways to speak to people, and how some of these media personalities are finding ways around repressive regimes.

America Abroad is anchored by Madeleine Brand, and produced and distributed by PRI, Public Radio International.

To listen to the program, click the audio player above.