常在新聞上看到「阿拉伯國家」，和「中東國家」一樣嗎？
答案是有點像，但定義完全不一樣。

● 阿拉伯國家：以阿拉伯語為主要語言，且以伊斯蘭教為主要信仰的國家和地區。
● 中東國家：以歐洲角度往東邊看，介於遠東（中國） 和近東（有點靠近東歐） 之間的國家，具體指地中海東部和南部區域。

一個是以宗教和語言定義，一個是從歐洲視角出發的地理術語。然而，很巧的是這兩個名詞涵蓋的國家大比例重疊，但不是完全一致。舉例來說，以色列是中東國家（地理符合），但不是阿拉伯國家（信仰和語言皆不符）。利比亞是阿拉伯國家，但不是中東國家（位於北非）。我們常說的「以阿衝突」，就是指「以色列和阿拉伯國家」之間的恩怨情仇，但不代表以色列和中東國家通通不合，也不代表阿拉伯國家只位於中東。你分清楚了嗎？

We often hear the term Arab countries used in the news. Are Arab countries the same as Middle Eastern countries? 

Here comes the answer: There are some similarities, but the two terms refer to entirely different concepts. 

• Arab countries: countries and regions where Arabic is the main language spoken, and Islam the dominant religion. 
• Middle Eastern countries: a Eurocentric term pointing to those countries to the east of Europe, nestled between the Orient (China) and Near East (the area close to Eastern Europe). To be more specific, they are countries in the Eastern and Southern Mediterranean regions. 

One term defines these countries by religion and language while the other is defined from a Eurocentric geographic perspective. It happens that the countries covered by these two terms are the same to a great extent though not entirely the same. For example, Israel is a Middle Eastern country but not an Arab country. Libya is an Arab country but not a Middle Eastern country. Arab-Israeli Conflicts refer to the rivalry and grudges between Israel and Arab states, but this does not mean that Israel does not see eye to eye with any of the Middle Eastern countries, nor does this mean Arab countries are all in the Middle East.