An introduction to the meaning of the term “MENA” with Professor Ross Brann, author and historian of religious and medieval studies at Cornell University. In the interview, Professor Brann discusses the meaning of “MENA” and the disadvantages and advantages of using a term imposed by outsiders.
Here at Women of MENA, the term “MENA” denotes the Middle East and North Africa. However, it took us a while to settle on using the term, since both the Middle East and North Africa represent vastly diverse regions of the world. MENA is defined differently across the globe, leading to not only confusion but stereotypes.
To debunk the myths and assumptions surrounding the MENA region to the so-called Western world, we sat down in discussion with Professor Ross Brann of Cornell University. Along with formally serving as the Chair of the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Cornell for 19 years, Professor Brann is a published author and historian of religious and medieval studies. His published works include The Compunctious Poet: Cultural Ambiguity and Hebrew Poetry in Muslim Spain (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991) and Power in the Portrayal: Representations of Muslims and Jews in Islamic Spain (Princeton University Press, 2002). Professor Brann is also known for teaching courses such as History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Jews and the Classical Age of Islam, and Theory and Method in Near Eastern Studies.
Professor Brann and I discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the term the Middle East, the role of the western media in conceptualizing the term, the rich culture and history of the peoples of the region before the colonial powers defined it, and why Americans may perceive Afghanistan as a part of the Middle East.
What does the “Middle East” mean?
The “Middle East,” the “Near East,” even the “Far East” are used to indicate the proximity of other regions of the world to Europe. Such terms were invented by the West and originally used in such languages spoken in the occident. However, with time the terms created to identify such regions were adapted and used by the languages of the so-called Middle East, Near East, and MENA regions. It is important to note that the Middle East and Near East are synonymous, although the Near East is an older term than the Middle East.
According to Professor Brann, “The term ‘the Middle East’ has a history of its own. The term did not exist before the modern period. It’s an invention of the West. The problem with [the term] historically is it’s Eurocentric; it views the globe from the standpoint of Western Europe and then, by extension, the United States. ‘Middle’ to what? ‘Near’ to what? It’s near Europe, and it’s in the middle. It’s between Europe and the Far East in that parlance. That’s very problematic because it means that the construction of this part of the globe as a region, distinct from many other regions, is something that was imposed on it from the outside.”
The problem is exacerbated when the terms the Middle East, Near East, and MENA are adapted by the region itself, as opposed to only being used in western media.
“The reason it’s so difficult…to problematize [the term] and leave it behind is that the term the Middle East has entered into the languages of the region. In Persian, Arabic, Hebrew, and Turkish, this term exists and people, particularly educated people, and newspapers, use that term to refer to their region, even if they are educated, knowing full well that the name of the region came from outside it” said Professor Brann.
As Michael Gasper argues in “Why Can’t You Find the Middle East on a Map?”, the Middle East is an “inescapable reality” for those living in the region, and in many ways, “they do not have the luxury to reject it.”
When the terms MENA, Middle East, and the Near East are translated and used in the media of the MENA region, Western generalizations about the MENA region are also slowly adopted by the people of the MENA region. These terms are inherently complicated. To help understand why they are used, Professor Brann and I explored some of the advantages and disadvantages of using them in the West.
Advantages and Disadvantages of using “MENA”
Arguably, the use of the terms MENA, Middle East, and the Near East can be an advantage to both the region and the global community. As stated earlier, the terms have become part of the vocabulary of the MENA region. They are also widely accepted, allowing for an understanding and acceptance of the region globally. More importantly, the European Western influence in generalizing and naming the region serves as a reminder of the remaining Western colonial powers in the region and in the modern period.
“It can serve as a reminder of the fact that constituting it as a region in the modern world is the product of European Western interference in that part of the globe. It’s not a bad thing to take note of that historical event,” said Professor Brann.
Nevertheless, the foundation of the terms MENA, Middle East, and the Near East reflect Eurocentrism. The terms themselves constitute the proximity of the region to Europe or the West. Further, the terms generalize vastly diverse cultures into one term.
The terms also do not universally reflect the same geographic area. Depending on where you look, you’ll find different definitions. Per the Office of the United States Trade Representative, MENA countries consist of “Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.” According to the World Bank, MENA includes the same countries except for Turkey and Israel and includes Djibouti. Other definitions include Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“There are all these new terms popping up that people in the West are still trying to use to attempt to describe the region, and it’s interesting because nothing seems to fit,” said Professor Brann.
Despite various attempts at definitions and the seeming importance of distinguishing the region, there is still confusion about what countries are and are not included. For example, the concept of the Greater Middle East, another term created by the West, is known to include Afghanistan and Pakistan. During the 9/11 era and the George W. Bush presidency, the Greater Middle East was often a term thrown around American politics in order to include Afghanistan. However, Afghanistan and Pakistan are both considered South Asia by the US trade representative.
This led to an association between the people of Afghanistan and terrorism. As Professor Brann explained, “although Afghans didn’t participate in 9/11, it was staged or planned, let’s say, from Afghan territory in the American consciousness, it’s [perceived]… as part of this world that is scary and hostile…What is written on the map as well can always be an area of debate,” said Professor Brann.
The “Greater Middle East” did not only expand the physical boundaries of the MENA region, but also the interpretation of what events or ideas people can associate with the region at large.
“To a lot of people in the United States, when they think about the Middle East, they think about oil…they think about the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians…[and] they think about Iranian hostility towards the United States,” said Professor Brann.
With the turn of the century, more than just the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, oil, and Iranian hostility, people in the US think of the 20 year-long war in Afghanistan and, more recently, of Biden’s withdrawal. Clearly, it is difficult to define an interpretation of a term when the interpretation does not have historical backing or an academic foundation.
Such misinterpretations are exacerbated by western media, who often use the ideas and presumptions about the region to define the MENA, Near East, and Middle East territory. This leads to stereotypes and false homogeny of the region, which often overshadows the diversity across countries and cultures.
“The Islamic world is very diverse. It’s always been diverse. There are lots of currents in Islamic history and Islamic culture that market. So although, say, people in Morocco share a religion and culture and history with people in Afghanistan, there’s also specific things about Islam in Morocco, and Moroccan culture that differs from Islam in Afghanistan and Afghan culture ” said Professor Brann.
Concluding Thoughts
The role of the media in conceptualizing the terms the Middle East continues to bleed into American politics today. Despite the continued conversations over the origins of the following terms, such discussions often take place in the West through the voices of those attending a western academic institution.
“It’s not just what I may think, or maybe what faculty here think; it also matters what the people of the actual region think as well. And it displays through the fact that now…the terms are being translated into other languages,” said Professor Brann.
The role European powers have had in defining the MENA region exemplifies the long journey the world has to fight modern colonial powers and celebrate the diversity of cultures. Our publication is dedicated to exploring these complex questions and creating an open dialogue between students and Professors at Cornell with people from the region. While we use the term MENA, we recognize both the advantages and disadvantages of the term, and we are dedicated to exploring that nuance. Change cannot happen without us – students who have the privilege of studying at an institution like Cornell – questioning the terms we have been taught to use. With this in mind, I will leave off with another quote by Gasper:
“In an analogous way to how some study history with the expectation of learning about the past in order to change the future, perhaps we can study the Middle East with the hope of imagining a different relationship between the peoples of the region and the West.”
Women of MENA 
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