AP PHOTOS: Indonesian sharia clown teaches Islamic values ​​to children

TANGERANG, Indonesia (AP) — Wearing a colorful costume, red nose and a turban on his head, Yahya Hendrawan performs as a clown in Indonesian schools, teaching Islamic values to children and teenagers.

He started out working birthday parties as a side hustle. But in 2010 his religious teacher encouraged him to become a modern-day Abu Nawas, a legendary Arabic poet known for his wit, wisdom, humor and clever wordplay, so he could bring a cheerful, lighthearted approach to teaching religion.

Hendrawan, now known as Yahya Badut, or Yahya the Clown, has embraced that vision. He founded, along with some fellow clowns, the Sharia Clown Foundation, a neighborhood initiative that blends entertainment with religious education.

Hendrawan teaches every weekday afternoon in a library at his house and occasionally at a school or orphanage with his clown partners.

He often begins lessons with a cheerful song, encouraging children to share a smile. Other clowns open with magic tricks.

“There is a hadith that says: Your sweet smile in front of your brothers is charity. So we must prioritize smiles and greetings. When meeting friends, shaking hands, smile .. You are good. I am good. Thank God,” Hendrawan said.

By being funny and cheerful, Hendrawan says he hopes the children will quickly absorb his lessons about morals, manners and Islamic values.

Yahya Edward Hendrawan, who is also known as 'Yahya the Clown', checks his make up before giving an Islamic religious class during a Ramadan event at an elementary school in Tangerang, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Students watch Sumantri, who goes by the stage name 'Mantri Mejikom', perform during a Ramadan event at an elementary school in Tangerang, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Students watch Sumantri, who goes by the stage name 'Mantri Mejikom', perform during a Ramadan event at an elementary school in Tangerang, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Yahya Edward Hendrawan, who is also known as 'Yahya the Clown', gives an Islamic religious class during a Ramadan event at an elementary school in Tangerang, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Yahya Edward Hendrawan, who is also known as 'Yahya the Clown', gives an Islamic religious class during a Ramadan event at an elementary school in Tangerang, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Yahya Edward Hendrawan, who is also known as 'Yahya the Clown', applies make up before giving an Islamic religious class during a Ramadan event at an elementary school in Tangerang, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Sumantri, who is is known with his stage name 'Mantri Mejikom', left and Miko Badut perform during an iftar event in Tangerang, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Yahya Edward Hendrawan, who is also known as 'Yahya the Clown', walk past children attending an iftar, or meal to break Ramadan fast, event at his house in Tangerang, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Yahya Edward Hendrawan, who is also known as 'Yahya the Clown', stands among attendees during an iftar event at his house in Tangerang, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Yahya Edward Hendrawan, who is also known as 'Yahya the Clown', poses for a photo at his house in Tangerang, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Yahya Edward Hendrawan, who is also known as 'Yahya the Clown', prays during an iftar, or meal to break Ramadan fast, event at his house in Tangerang, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Performing clown, who wished to be identified as Om Miko the Clown, wears his shoes before a performance at an iftar event in Tangerang, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Yahya Edward Hendrawan, who is also known as 'Yahya the Clown', center, with his colleagues Miko Badut, left, and Sumatri, who goes with 'Mantri Mejikom' as his stage name, apply make up before performing at an iftar event in Tangerang, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Yahya Edward Hendrawan, who is also known as 'Yahya the Clown', left, and Sumantri, who goes with 'Mantri Mejikom' as his stage name, apply make up before performing at an iftar event in Tangerang, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Yahya Edward Hendrawan, who is also known as 'Yahya the Clown', center, carries a rug during preparations for an iftar, or meal to break Ramadan fast, event at his house in Tangerang, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Yahya Edward Hendrawan, who is also known as 'Yahya the Clown', gives an Islamic religious class during a Ramadan event at an elementary school in Tangerang, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Moscow freed a Russian American convicted of treason in exchange for a Russian German man jailed on smuggling charges in the U.S., a prisoner swap that was completed Thursday as the two countries met to repair ties.

Ksenia Karelina is “on a plane back home to the United States,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on social media platform X. She was arrested in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg in February 2024 and convicted of treason on charges stemming from a donation of about $52 to a charity aiding Ukraine. U.S. authorities have called the case “absolutely ludicrous.”

Arthur Petrov was released as part of a swap in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, according to the Federal Security Service, or FSB, Russia's main security and counterintelligence agency. Petrov was arrested in Cyprus in August 2023 at the request of the U.S. on charges of smuggling sensitive microelectronics to Russia and extradited to the U.S. a year later.

Karelina was among a growing number of Americans arrested in Russia in recent years as tensions between Moscow and Washington spiked over the war in Ukraine. Her release is the latest in a series of high-profile prisoner exchanges Russia and the U.S. carried out in the last three years — and the second since President Donald Trump took office and reversed Washington's policy of isolating Russia in an effort to end the war in Ukraine.

CIA director John Ratcliffe hailed “the CIA officers who worked tirelessly to support this effort.” The CIA also emphasized that “the exchange shows the importance of keeping lines of communication open with Russia, despite the deep challenges in our bilateral relationship.”

Meanwhile, Russian and U.S. diplomats met in Istanbul for a second round of talks on normalizing embassies' work following the first such meeting in February. The State Department said the delegations “exchanged notes to finalize an understanding to ensure the stability of diplomatic banking for Russian and U.S. bilateral missions.”

It said the U.S. reiterated its concerns about the Russian ban on hiring of local staff, “the key impediment to maintaining for stable and sustainable staffing levels at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow."

Alexander Darchiyev, Russia’s ambassador to Washington who led Moscow’s delegation in the talks, praised their “positive atmosphere” and noted the parties agreed to continue discussions to facilitate diplomats’ travel. He added that the Russian side also pushed for a quick return of its diplomatic property seized by U.S. authorities.

In February, Russia released American teacher Marc Fogel, imprisoned on drug charges, in a swap that the White House described as part of a diplomatic thaw that could advance peace negotiations. That same month, Russia released another American just days after arresting him on drug smuggling charges.

Karelina, a former ballet dancer also identified in some media as Ksenia Khavana, lived in Maryland before moving to Los Angeles. She was arrested when she returned to Russia to visit her family last year.

The FSB accused her of “proactively" collecting money for a Ukrainian organization that was supplying gear to Kyiv's forces. The First Department, a Russian rights group, said the charges stemmed from a $51.80 donation to a U.S. charity aiding Ukraine.

Karelina’s lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, said on Instagram that she had been in touch with her family since her release.

“I am overjoyed to hear that the love of my life, Ksenia Karelina is on her way home from wrongful detention in Russia,” Karelina’s fiancé, Chris van Heerden, said in a statement. “She has endured a nightmare for 15 months and I cannot wait to hold her. Our dog, Boots, is also eagerly awaiting her return.”

He thanked Trump and his envoys, as well as prominent public figures who had championed her case.

White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said on X that “President Trump and his administration continue to work around the clock to ensure Americans detained abroad are returned home to their families.”

The exchange was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Karelina was headed to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, according to a person familiar with the situation who insisted on anonymity to discuss her case.

The United Arab Emirates' state-run WAM news agency released photos of Karelina boarding a plane and one of her standing next to Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE’s ambassador to the U.S.

The FSB, which said President Vladimir Putin had pardoned Karelina before the swap, released a video showing her being escorted to a plane somewhere in Russia. The footage then featured of what appeared to be the scene of exchange at the Abu Dhabi airport, with Petrov walking off a plane and shaking hands with Russian officials on the tarmac.

The video showed Petrov undergoing medical checkups on a flight to Russia. “I have no particular complaints, just a bit tired,” he said.

Another video released by the FSB later in the day showed him walking off a plane after arriving in Russia.

Petrov was accused by the U.S. Justice Department of involvement in a scheme to procure microelectronics subject to U.S. export controls on behalf of a Russia-based supplier of critical components for the country's weapons industries. He was facing a 20-year prison term in the U.S.

Abu Dhabi was the scene of another high-profile prisoner swap between Russia and the United States. In December 2022, American basketball star Brittney Griner was traded for the notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The UAE has been a mediator in prisoner swaps between Russia and Ukraine, while the skyscraper-studded city of Dubai has become home to many Russians and Ukrainian who fled there after the start of Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Litvinova reported from Tallinn, Estonia. Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed.

FILE – Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was exchanged for U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner, speaks to the media at an opening for an exhibition of his artworks at the Mosfilm studio in Moscow, Russia, March 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

FILE - Basketball player Brittney Griner listens to her verdict while standing in a cage in a courtroom in Khimki, outside Moscow, Russia, Aug. 4, 2022. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - President Donald Trump greets Marc Fogel on the South Lawn at the White House, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - Ksenia Karelina sits in a glass cage in a court room in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Ksenia Karelina speaks with her lawyer while standing in a glass cage in a court room in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo, File)

This photo released by the state-run WAM news agency shows Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to the U.S., left, standing next to U.S.-Russian dual national Ksenia Karelina after her release at an airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (WAM via AP)

This photo released by the state-run WAM news agency shows U.S.-Russian dual national Ksenia Karelina getting on a private jet after her release at an airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (WAM via AP)

FILE - Ksenia Karelina, also known as Khavana sits in a glass cage in a court room in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Thursday, June 20, 2024. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Ksenia Karelina, also known as Khavana sits in a glass cage in a court room in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024.(AP Photo/File)