In Asian history, maps of the Middle East were drawn during the Eternal Eastern Question era (Bacharach, 1984). Geographically, Middle East refers to the region between the Southeastern Asia and Northeastern Africa. The use of the term, in reference to the Persian countries, was first used by a US naval by the name Mahan during the early 20th century (Bonine, 2012).
Before the adoption of this term, the region was widely known as the Near East. During this period, the Near East regions represented areas between the Mediterranean Sea and India. From the early mid 20th century, there have been several attempts to rename the region with geographical and cultural names (Bonine, 2012). Through these, several international initiatives have been started to enhance major geographic shifts.
As a result, several attempts have been made with the aim of identifying and restructuring the Middle East. Notably, the United Nation no longer refers to the region as the Middle East. Instead, the institution refers to the region as the Western Asia. This paper highlights several reasons seeking to support why the region should be referred to as the West Asia rather than the Middle East.
According to the world map, the Far East countries are situated around the Japanese region. On the other hand, countries such as Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia are situated on the western side of the Asian map (Beaumont, 1976). Based on this, the region referred to as the Middle East should be situated around India and Pakistan region.
This implies that the term Middle East has been used in reference to a different geographical region. In this regard, the term definition is geographically incorrect. Currently, the Middle East is commonly used in reference to the Arabs countries stretching from Iran to Egypt (Bonine, 2012).
In history, the use of the term Middle East in reference to Arab countries has been a matter of contention. As such, the ever-increasing usage of the term has led to the stretching of its boundaries (Bonine, 2012). Currently, the term Middle East consists of countries such as Morocco and Pakistan, which were never included in the start. This implies that the term is evolving with each passing year.
Initially, during the World War I, the Middle East countries consisted of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Iran, Arabia, and Jordan. Other Arab countries were added with the increase in the usage of the term. The absence of an intrinsic regional notion and identity in the postcolonial era added greater weight to the Middle East nomenclature as an extrinsic construct (Bonine, 2012).
The term gained global acceptance during the Cold War. Critics argue that the usage of the term Middle East in reference to all Arabs countries is inappropriate. According to them, the term categorizes the Arabs countries based on biases and prejudices.
Based on how the term was coined and how it gained its acceptance, we can argue that the region should not be called the Middle East but rather the West Asia. In this respect, the term Middle East is inappropriate since it was only employed after the colonialists failed to identify an intrinsic name to identify with the region.
Similarly, the use of the term has prejudiced the region as a region prone to conflicts. In the past decades, several countries in the Middle East such as Palestine, Israel, Afghanistan, and Iraq have experienced numerous conflicts (Bonine, 2012).
More often in the Western Media, these conflicts are associated with the Middle East as a region rather than with specific countries. This has painted a negative international image about the Middle East in the minds of the foreigners. Owing to this, the region should be named western Asia to enhance its international image.
Another reason why the region should be referred to as the Western Asia is that the term Middle East is considered as a Eurocentric term (Lockman, 2004). According to the Middle East history, the term became very prevalent in the 20th century during the decolonization era. As earlier stated, the usage of the term has created confusion in history.
Notably, prior the mid 20th century the term was used in reference to areas under the rule Ottoman Empire. Upon the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the year 1918, the term was used in reference to all Islamic countries who were gaining their independence from their western colonials. In the US, the term was first used in the year 1957 by the Eisenhower’s government (Bonine, 2012).
Currently, the use of the term is normally associated with the conflicts between the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts. Through these, we realize that the term is Eurocentric.
Critics argue that the term has been widely used by the Westerners when referring to the Arab countries to foster their cultural superiority in the world. To avoid Eurocentric issues and controversies whenever the term is used, the use of the term should be abolished. By doing so, the name Western Asia should be adopted.
References
Bacharach, J. L. (1984). A Middle East studies handbook. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
Beaumont, P. (1976). The Middle East: a geographical study. London a.o: Wiley.
Bonine, M. E. (2012). Is there a Middle East? The evolution of a geopolitical concept . Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.
Lockman, Z. (2004). Contending visions of the Middle East: the history and politics of Orientalism . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.