John Ricardo I. "Juan" Cole (born October 1952) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 scholar, public intellectual, and historian

Historian

A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...

 of the modern Middle East

History of the Middle East

This article is a general overview of the history of the Middle East. For more detailed information, see articles on the histories of individual countries and regions...

 and South Asia

History of South Asia

The term South Asia refers to the contemporary political entities of the Indian subcontinent and associated island. These are the states of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and the island nations of Sri Lanka and the Maldives....

. He is Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

. As a commentator on Middle Eastern affairs, he has appeared in print and on television, and testified before the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

. He has published several peer-reviewed books on the modern Middle East and is a translator of both Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

 and Persian

Persian language

Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

.