John Ricardo Irfan "Juan" Cole (born October 23, 1952) is an American academic and commentator on the modern Middle East and South Asia. He is Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan. Since 2002, he has written a weblog, Informed Comment (juancole.com). Background Cole was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His father served in the United States Army Signal Corps. When Cole was age two, his family left New Mexico for France. His father completed two tours with the U.S. military in France (a total of seven years) and one 18-month stay at Kagnew Station in Asmara, Eritrea (then Ethiopia). Cole was schooled at twelve schools in twelve years, at a series of dependent schools on military bases but also sometimes in civilian schools. Some schooling occurred in the United States, particularly in North Carolina and California. Baháʼí studies Cole converted to the Baháʼí Faith in 1972 and spent 25 years writing and travelling in support of the religion. He had several works published through Baháʼí publishers and co-edited an online journal (Occasional Papers in the Shaykhi, Babi, and Baha'i Religions). Some of these were unofficial translations, and two volumes by/about early Baháʼí theologian Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl. In 1994 Cole participated in a discussion group that became a forum for dissent among Baháʼí academics against the Baháʼí administration. Cole was perceived as leading a dissident faction, and resigned his membership in 1996 after being confronted by Baháʼí leadership. He declared himself a Unitarian Universalist. Soon after his resignation, Cole created an email list and website called H-Bahai, which became a repository of both primary source material and critical analysis on the religion. Cole went on to critically attack the Baháʼí Faith in several books and articles written from 1998–2002, describing a prominent Baháʼí as "inquisitor" and "bigot", and accusing Baháʼí institutions of cult-like tendencies. Appointments and awards Cole was awarded Fulbright-Hays fellowships to India (1982) and to Egypt (1985–1986). In 1991 he held a National Endowment for the Humanities grant for the study of Shia Islam in Iran. From 1999 until 2004, Juan Cole was the editor of The International Journal of Middle East Studies. He has served in professional offices for the American Institute of Iranian Studies and on the editorial board of the journal Iranian Studies. He is a member of the Middle East Studies Association of North America, and served as the organization's