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The Middle East is a geographical and cultural area
comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean
Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to
the Persian Gulf. The Middle East is a subregion of Africa-Eurasia,
or more specifically Asia, and sometimes Africa.
History
Starting in the middle of the 20th century, the Middle
East has been at the centre of world affairs, and is probably the modern
world's most strategically, economically, politically and culturally
sensitive area. It possesses huge stocks of crude oil, is the birthplace
and spiritual centre of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, is the location
of the long-running Arab-Israeli conflict, and is the most important
source of international terrorism.
Borders
The term Middle East defines a general area, so does
not have precise borders. It is generally taken to include: Bahrain,
Egypt, Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and disputed territories
of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The countries of the Maghreb (Algeria, Libya, Morocco
and Tunisia) are frequently linked to the Middle East due to their strong
historical and cultural associations, as is Sudan. The African countries
Mauritania and Somalia also have links to the region. Turkey and Cyprus,
although geographically inside or close to the Middle East, consider
themselves to be part of Europe (although the 'Middle East Technical
University' is located in Ankara, Turkey). To the east, Afghanistan
is sometimes linked to the Middle East.
Eurocentrism
Some have criticized the term Middle East for its perceived
Eurocentrism: The region is only east when considered from the perspective
of western Europe. To an Indian, it lies to the west; to a Russian,
it lies to the south. The description Middle has also led to some confusion
over changing definitions. Before the First World War, Near East was
used in English to refer to the Balkans and the Ottoman Empire, while
Middle East referred to Persia, Afghanistan and sometimes Central Asia,
Turkestan and the Caucasus. (Far East referred to countries such as
Malaysia and Singapore in East Asia.)
With the disappearance of the Ottoman Empire in 1918,
Near East largely fell out of common use, while Middle East came to
be applied to the re-emerging countries of the Arab world. (It should
be noted, however, that several other European languages, such as German,
and several academic disciplines even in the English-speaking world,
such as archaeology and ancient history, retain the use of Near East
as a common designation, describing an area identical to that described
by the more widely-used Middle East).
Indirect translations
There are terms similar to Near East and Middle East
in other European languages, but, since it is a relative description,
the meanings depend on the country and are different from the English
terms generally. See fr:Proche-Orient, fr:Moyen-Orient, and de:Naher
Osten for examples.
Similar terms
In some ways the ambiguity of Middle East is an advantage,
since it can be used in changing cultural and political circumstances.
The ambiguity of the term annoys some geographers, however, who have
tried to popularise Southwest Asia as an alternative, although with
little success. Other alternatives include: West Asia, which has become
the preferred term of use in India, both by the government and by the
media; Arab world, which is used in some contexts, but excludes peoples
such as Israelis, Iranians and Kurds who are not Arabs; and Middle East-North
Africa (MENA), which is sometimes used to encompass the zone from Morocco
to Iran. A similar term the so-called Greater Middle East is sometimes
used, although it is so vague that it is not always useful. It can encompass
North Africa and Turkey in the west to Pakistan and Afghanistan in the
east.
