Shiite Crescent

The "Shiite Crescent", the numbers shows the percent of Shia in the population in the Middle East

Shiite Crescent is used as a political and geopolitical term to describe the different countries in the Middle East whose majority is Shia or who have a strong Shia minority in the population. It is often used to describe the rivalry and the potential of a conflict between the Shia majority and Sunni majority countries in the Middle East.

The countries where Shia Muslims form a dominant majority are Azerbaijan, Iran, Bahrain and Iraq. The shape of these countries put together resembles a crescent or half moon. Large minorities also exist in Turkey, Lebanon, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, India, UAE, and Syria. However, Pakistan, India and Azerbaijan are excluded from the Shiite Crescent, and although Shias are a large majority in Azerbaijan, the country is a secular state^[1] and the percentage who worship Shia Islam, Islam or any religion are much lower.^[2]