John Ricardo I. Cole is een Amerikaanse geleerde en historicus gespecialiseerd in het moderne Midden-Oosten, de islam en Zuid-Azië. Hij biedt inzichtelijke commentaren op Midden-Oosterse aangelegenheden en Amerikaans beleid, en verschijnt regelmatig in de pers, radio en televisie. Zijn uitgebreide oeuvre omvat talrijke boeken over het moderne Midden-Oosten, evenals vertalingen van literaire figuren als Khalil Gibran en Omar Khayyam. Via zijn weblog Informed Comment blijft hij diepgaande analyses van hedendaagse gebeurtenissen bieden.
Perdue illuminates how China came to rule Central Eurasia and how it justifies that control, what holds the Chinese nation together, and how its relations with the Islamic world and Mongolia developed. He offers valuable comparisons to other colonial empires and discusses the legacy left by China's frontier expansion.
A seminal analysis of the most recent developments in Iraqi Shiism
In the midst of the dramatic seventh-century war between two empires, Muhammad was a spiritual seeker in search of community and sanctuary. Many observers stereotype Islam and its scripture as inherently extreme or violent-a narrative that has overshadowed the truth of its roots. In this masterfully told account, preeminent Middle East expert Juan Cole takes us back to Islam's-and the Prophet Muhammad's-origin story. Cole shows how Muhammad came of age in an era of unparalleled violence. The eastern Roman Empire and the Sasanian Empire of Iran fought savagely throughout the Near East and Asia Minor. Muhammad's profound distress at the carnage of his times led him to envision an alternative movement, one firmly grounded in peace. The religion Muhammad founded, Islam, spread widely during his lifetime, relying on soft power instead of military might, and sought armistices even when militarily attacked. Cole sheds light on this forgotten history, reminding us that in the Qur'an, the legacy of that spiritual message endures. A vibrant history that brings to life the fascinating and complex world of the Prophet, Muhammad is the story of how peace is the rule and not the exception for one of the world's most practiced religions.
Western society is suffering from Islam Anxiety—the product of fear-mongering and misinformation. There is a desperate need to debunk the myths concerning Islam in order to improve the political and ideological understanding between Muslim countries and their Western counterparts. Juan Cole, already celebrated for his rejection of stereotypes and his insistence on taking all perspectives into account, carefully sorts through and addresses all the major issues in Western - Muslim relations, including: terrorism, gas and petroleum dependence on the volatile Oil Gulf, the uncertainties of the Iraq War, and the little-understood regimes in Iran and Saudi Arabia. With clear-eyed determination, Cole separates spin from fact, providing substantive recommendations for the next administration on how to engage with key countries such as Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. Finally, Cole reveals how we can repair the damage of the disastrous foreign policy of the last eight years and forge ahead on a path of peace and prosperity.
Focusing on Napoleon's 1798 invasion of Egypt, the narrative explores his motivations and perspectives on the Orient. Juan Cole examines the psychology of Napoleon and his troops, highlighting their daily struggles and the stark contrast between their expectations and the reality of Egypt. The book also discusses the military challenges faced in this foreign land, ultimately illustrating how this invasion marked the beginning of modern liberal imperialism rhetoric in the Arab world.
The first textbook to present world history via social history, drawing on social science methods and research. This interdisciplinary, comprehensive, and comparative textbook is authored by distinguished scholars and experienced teachers, and offers expert scholarship on global history that is ideal for undergraduate students. Volume 2 takes us from the early modern period to speculation about the world in 2050, visiting diverse civilizations, nation-states, ecologies, and people along the journey through time and place. The book pays particular attention to the ways in which ordinary people lived through the great changes of their times, and how everyday experience connects to great political events and the commercial exchanges of an interconnected world. With 75 maps, 65 illustrations, timelines, boxes, and primary source extracts, the book enables students to use historical material and social science methodologies to analyze the events of the past, present, and future.
Focusing on the youth movements during the Arab Spring, the book delves into how activists in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya harnessed technology and social media to spread their messages and unite citizens. Renowned blogger and Middle East expert Juan Cole provides an insightful analysis of these movements, highlighting their impact and the role of digital communication in shaping political landscapes. This study offers a compelling look at the dynamics of grassroots activism in the region.
Focusing on the historical context of the Qur'an, this book examines its reflections on the cultural, religious, and political dynamics in Western Arabia during the 603-630 conflict between the Roman and Sasanian empires. Through six case studies, it explores the text's formation and narrative techniques, including a detailed analysis of narrative apostrophe. The work connects the Qur'an's narrative choices to broader themes of late antiquity, revealing how these elements interact with other texts and perspectives over time.
In the Cold War era, a Russian spy and his boyhood friend decide to defect to the West by crossing the North Sea to Yorkshire, where their protagonist, Walter Searby, is charged with discovering what lies behind three bodies found on the beach in the same area. Searby is worried about possible infiltration of SIS. He recruits his own spies from guests at a small hotel, a one-time Jewish cockney petty-crook, an ex-colonial police inspector and a widowed author of soft pornography, who develops a crush for the master spy. In liaison with the local police force, which is prepared to turn a blind eye to his methods, the mystery of the three bodies is solved and the landing of iron curtain agents brought to an end.
Part II then investigates the problem of finding our real information need during information searches, and how our exceptional ability to frame our interactions with the world blocks us from finding the information we really need.