Missed Opportunities: The Trump Administration, Iran, and the Coronavirus Pandemic

On the surface, the global coronavirus pandemic of 2020 might have offered the United States and Iran an opportunity to stand down from their virtual war footing. In the lead-up to the outbreak, Iran had shot down a US drone over the Gulf in June 2019, and on January 3, President Donald J. Trump had ordered a drone strike at Baghdad International Airport on Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and his entourage. In response, Iran fired rockets at Iraqi bases where US troops were stationed, and Iraqi Shiite militias mounted attacks that killed two US military personnel and wounded several others. Some of the severe tensions derived from the Trump administration's thoroughgoing financial and trade restrictions on Iran. For its part, Washington was determined to roll back Iranian influence in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon and to protect its key allies in the region, including Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. How did these two adversaries deploy the pandemic in the service of their geopolitical goals

The Qur'an and the Modern Self: A Heterotopia

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156255/1/The_Quran_and_the_Modern_Self_A_Heterot.pdfSEL

Al-Qaeda's Doomsday Document and Psychological Manipulation

https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156040/1/Doomsday Document--Atta's Letter and Al Qaeda--Comment by Dr. Juan Cole.pd

Roots of North Indian Shi`ism in Iran and Iraq: Religion and State in Awadh, 1722-1859.

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156036/1/Roots of North Indian Shiism.pd

Infidel or Paganus? The Polysemy of kafara in the Quran

This article explores the meaning of the root k-f-r in the Quran, questioning the practice of translating the noun kāfir as “infidel.” It argues for a distinction between the idiomatic phrasal verb kafara bi-, which does mean to reject or dis- believe, and the simple intransitive verb kafara and its deverbal nouns, which are used in the Quran in a large number of different ways. This polysemy is explored through contextual readings of Quran passages. It is argued that the noun kāfir, unlike the verb kafara, is used only with regard to adherents of traditional polytheism and is not deployed in an unmodified way with regard to Jews and Christians. The possible influence on the Arabic kafara of Greek and Latin conceptions is also broached.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162591/1/JAOS 140.3 Cole.pdfDescription of JAOS 140.3 Cole.pdf : Main ArticleSEL

Missed Opportunities: The Trump Administration, Iran, and the Coronavirus Pandemic

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156034/1/Missed_Opportunities_The_Trump_Administr.pd

Selected Volatile Organic Compound Emissions and Performance of Oriented Strandboard from Extracted Southern Pine

The impact of a hot water extraction procedure on select volatile organic compound emissions during pressing, as well as on properties of oriented strandboard (OSB) was evaluated. Southern pine strands were extracted with hot water using a rotating digester at 160°C for 22.9 or 53.6 min. Weight loss for the two extraction conditions was 6.3 ± 0.1% (short time) and 9.3 ± 0.9% (long time). The extract contained a mixture of hemicelluloses, acetic acid, and lignin. OSB panels were manufactured both with and without adhesive. The emissions (phenol, methanol, acetaldehyde, and formaldehyde) without adhesive present decreased from 38.2 to 24.2 mg/kg (oven-dry wood) as a result of the high severity factor (HSF) extraction. When adhesive was used, emissions totaled 22.1, 17.0, and 15.6 mg/kg (oven-dry wood) for control, low severity factor, and HSF, respectively. Water sorption and thickness swell were significantly reduced in panels made from extracted strands. Flexural modulus of elasticity of extracted panels exhibited significant increases in both dry and wet conditions. The flexural modulus of rupture and internal bond were slightly reduced in the dry condition as weight loss increased. The extraction procedure shows promise for improving a variety of properties of OSB, including performance, reduced environmental impact, and generation of a valuable chemical feedstock byproduct