People mind blown after realising why the ‘Middle East’ is called that

People are only just now realising the damage the colonialist term ‘Middle East’ can cause after a viral video featuring a late Egyptian activist has resurfaced online.

Nawal El Saadawi, described online as a ‘feminist firebrand’, was a prominent Egyptian author, human rights activist and physician who lived between 1931 and 2021.

Known for challenging societal norms, El Saadawi would routinely give talks, tackle tough subjects, and go head-to-head with opponents in well-informed debates.

In 2015, the icon gave a masterclass in decolonisation at the De Balie program in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

It was there that she refused to carry on a conversation unless her host stopped using the term ‘Middle East.’

“Not Middle East, please,” she said during The Freedom Lecture.

“The minute I hear ‘Middle East’, I become upset.

“This is colonial language. It’s like ‘third world’. Middle East? Middle to whom?”

After watching the short clip, Instagram users have come out in their droves to vow that they won’t use the term ‘Middle East’ again.

“I’m disappointed in myself for not even realising or questioning this,” said one person.

A second messaged: “Wow I wasn’t even aware. Learned something and will not stop using that term.”

Someone else typed: “I have never heard this and glad I know now.”

“Middle to whom? Brilliant perspective,” another echoed.

But what actually is the so-called Middle East, and what countries are considered part of the territory?

Why do we call the Middle East the Middle East?

In the 19th century, Britain and other Western European nations categorised Asia and North Africa into three general regions: the Near East, the Middle East, and the Far East.

Over time, the terms ‘Near East’ and ‘Far East’ have fallen out of favour, while ‘Middle East - a term perpetuated by colonial powers - has persisted in common usage.

Therefore, when British people and some European territories use the word ‘Middle East’, they’re typically referring to countries situated in Southwestern Asia and North Africa.

What countries are considered as the Middle East?

The geographical region of the ‘Middle East’ has no standardised definition.

Despite there being no definitive roster of Middle Eastern countries, most news outlets still list a ‘core group’ of territories they define as part of the fabled area, as per World Population Review.

For example, the BBC classifies Iran, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Algeria, Bahrain, Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Kuwait as Middle Eastern countries.

Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen are also categorised by the cooperation of making up the so-called ‘Middle East.’

However, some other publications claim Cyprus and Turkey are part of the group, too.

Why do some find the term 'Middle East' problematic?

According to Lux Magazine, the term ‘Middle East’ is as redundant in the 2020s as it is steeped in colonialism.

The outlet wrote: “It’s time to ditch the cliche, and the terminology that perpetuates it.”

Meanwhile, Julian Sayarer wrote for Geographical that the Middle East has become so commonplace in our vernacular that we ‘seldom consider what it means.’

He wrote that if you’re in India, Palestine is geographically west, while the equator is 4,000 kilometres south of Beirut - querying why the country is considered part of the ‘Middle East’ at all.

“The term ‘Middle East’ is imbued with old and colonial ideas of linen-shirted Brits on camelback or, more recently, grainy footage of embassy sieges or protests at US aggression in the region (relatedly, few other places are simply referred to as ‘the region’),” Sayarer continued.

He added: “Among Western populations, there’s a growing awareness that things in countries the term purported to describe aren’t as they had been led to believe.

“If we’re to avoid a century of growing international irrelevance and complicity in the ongoing violence, Western governments must urgently begin to catch up.”