Konstantin Rintelmann is graduate from the University of Münster, Germany, with a double BA degree in Islamic-Arab Culture and Islamic Theology. He majored in Shiism and Iranian history and later obtained an MA degree in Middle East Politics and Security Studies with distinction from the University of Bradford, UK. He was awarded the prize ‘Best Dissertation’ for his critique “Diversity, Discord, and Discourse: A Dissection of the ‘Shīʻite Crescent’ and the Sectarian Narrative” by the Division of Peace Studies and International Development. He has traveled the Middle East extensively over the past years and hopes to continue research on identity, sectarianism, nationalism, and Iraq-Iran relations.