The Islamic Solidarity Games, which were to be held in Iran in April, have been called off because the countries could not agree on what to call the Persian Gulf. The Iranian organizers used the words “Persian Gulf” on the planned logo and medals, angering the Arab countries who call it Arabian Gulf. This debate about what to call the Persian Gulf is not limited to just the Middle Eastern countries. Many western news media like the BBC call the waterway simply as “the Gulf.” While this might seem like an innocuous debate, the implications of what we call Persian Gulf are huge. In the Asia Times, Mahan Abedin states reasons as why the name “Persian Gulf” should not be altered:
First and foremost, the name “Persian Gulf” reflects millennia of history, and disrespecting this name inevitably diminishes the histories and civilizations that grew around this strategic waterway.
Second, the name “Persian Gulf” has been legitimized by the highest international legal body, namely the United Nations. This legal premise is diminished at our peril; just imagine the crises that would erupt if nations took it upon themselves to rename the historical and legal names of seas and oceans. Imagine the Pakistanis calling the Indian Ocean the “Pakistani Ocean”; Texans renaming the Gulf of Mexico to reflect the identity of their own state; or the Iranians calling the Gulf of Oman the “Gulf of Iran”. Clearly, renaming the historical identifications of places is no trivial matter and can have very adverse political consequences.
Third, the campaign to change the name of the Persian Gulf, although rooted in the frustrations of a collapsing British Empire, has been driven by the politics of Arab nationalism. This nationalism is now almost universally condemned as a failure, and any lingering dreams of pan-Arabia dissipated with the fall of Baghdad and the ouster of Saddam Hussein on April 9, 2003.
“Persian Gulf” is recognized by the United Nations as the historically and legally valid term for the waterway. Arab countries and other media channels that refuse to use the proper legal name are only inciting a political crisis.
