Shiite Politics and the Future of Iraq

Abstract

Juan R. I. Cole is Professor of Modern Middle East and South Asian History at the History Department of the University of Michigan. He has written extensively about modern Islamic movements in Egypt, the Persian Gulf, and South Asia. His current research focuses on two contemporary phenomena: 1) Shiite Islam in Iraq and Iran and 2) the "jihadi" or "sacred war" strain of Muslim radicalism, including al-Qaeda and the Taliban among other groups. He lectures to the Mershon Center about the future of Iraq.