About the Author

Juan Cole is professor of Modern Middle East and South Asian history at the University of Michigan. Previously, he served as the Director of the universities Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies, from 1992 – 1995. His current research focuses on Shiite Islam in Iraq and Iran and the "jihadi" or "sacred-war" strain of Muslim radicalism, including al-Qaeda and the Taliban among other groups. Cole has written extensively on modern Islamic movements in Egypt, the Persian Gulf, and South Asia and has given numerous media interviews on the War on Terrorism and the war in Iraq. He was the recipient of the Hudson Research Professorship, in 2003, the Award for Research in Turkey, in 1999 and the Fulbright-Hays Islamic Civilization Postdoctoral Award in 1985-86.

Cole holds a B.A. degree in History and Literature of Religions from Northwestern University and a Master’s degree in Arabic Studies/History from American University in Cairo. In 1984 he completed his PhD in Islamic studies at the University of California at Los Angeles.