Posted at Oct 11/2007 12:33PM:
Audrey von Maluski: The Middle East is a geographic term referring to parts of Southwest Asia. It does not necessarily refer to countries of predominantly Muslim populations.

Technically, Middle East means North Africa, including Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, and Mauritania, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Oman, Jordan, Yemen, and Israel/Palestine.

It does not include Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Kazhakstan, Armenia, Georgia, or generally any of the former USSR states.

The Middle East as a term has come under criticism, like its older counterpart 'the Near East', due to its Eurocentric bent.

Posted at Oct 15/2007 03:05PM:
Ian: What about Turkey, Iran and Israel/Palestine? I think this is right so consider the ways in which this term seeks to downplay the role of ethnicity and religion in defining a cultural area. Why might this be useful? IN what ways is this kind of etic category of stretigic value for those not in this region?

Posted at Oct 16/2007 06:18PM:
Karl Su: If we want to understand current issues facing the region, for example, the economic returns to education in Jordan, we cannot leave Israel/Palestine and Turkey out of our equations. An etic category such as this is useful catch-all that recognizes the multi-ethnicity and pluralistic nature of the societies that inhabit these areas.