PersianGulf?

Question

Do you know any thing about the name of persian Gulf and this subject that why arab people want to call it arab Gulf?

Answer 1

The Persian Gulf is the body of water that is surrounded by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Oman.

Persia is the ancient name for the area that is now mostly Iran.  Obviously, the Iranians don't want to use the name Persia any more.  Additionally, the southern and western shores of the gulf are on the Arabian Peninsula (which includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Yemen, Oman, and United Arab Emirates).  The Arabian Peninsula is a major sub-region of Asia.  This could be the reason to want to change the name to Arab Gulf (or Arabian Gulf).  Culturally, the area around the Persian Gulf is a core region, and is thus important to many Arabs (and to Islamic culture, as well).

However, to change the name to Arabian Gulf would cause a lot of confusion.  This is because the Persian Gulf is an extension of the Arabian Sea.  The Arabian Sea is a major part of the Indian Ocean.  The Persian Gulf is separated from the Arabian Sea by the Strait of Hormuz, where Oman extends out toward Iran and creates a narrower channel.

So, it could be confusing to many people to have both an Arabian Gulf and an Arabian Sea, especially when they're connected to each other.  One could argue that the two are the same body of water, but each has different characteristics with regard to depth, temperature, salinity, fauna, and resources.

But, place names are important to people (especially to the people that live there), and if the people of the region want to change the name of the Persian Gulf, then it should be carefully considered.