It has been called the ‘Shi’ite crescent’: the belt of Shi’ite Muslims that runs from Lebanon in the west through Iraq, Iran, the Persian Gulf, and into south Asia. Martin Kramer came to the study of Shi’ism via Lebanon, and expanded from there. Here are some highlights:

• Hizbullah: The Calculus of Jihad is an overview of the rise and evolution of Lebanon’s radical Shi’ite movement.
• Syria’s Alawis and Shi’ism is an exploration of the weak link in the ‘Shi’ite crescent,’ and the way Syria’s secular regime has leveraged its (tenuous) affiliation to Sh’iite Islam.
• Khomeini’s Messengers in Mecca looks at the long history of Shi’ite-Wahhabi animosity through the prism of the pilgrimage to Mecca.
• Shi’ites and U.S. Policy: Between Allies and Adversaries explores divergent Shiite perceptions of the United States since the Iraq war.