The war of words between Iran and the (pro-US) Arab World may have spilled onto AUB’s campus (its been bound to; its been on the streets of Lebanon forever):
The American University of Beirut (AUB) has canceled an exhibition, which was to display historical documents about the Persian Gulf.
…
University officials canceled the event the night before it was to kick off, saying that the decision was made to avoid confrontation with Arab states.
The issue at hand? The body of water between Iran and Arabian Peninsula:
While historical documents show that the waterway has always been referred to as the ‘Persian Gulf’, certain Arab states have recently mounted efforts to remove ‘Persian’ from the name of the waterway.
Of course this isn’t the first time we’ve had actual “war of words” when it comes to the Arabian/Persian Gulf. Here’s my, hands-down, absolute favorite:
An old dispute got a new airing this week [May 3, 2006], when the Iranian president and the emir of Qatar got into it over the name of the body of water that separates Iran from the Arabian peninsula.
….
The emir, seeking diplomatic goodwill, said he hoped Iran’s national soccer team would bring pride to all the “Arabic Persian Gulf” region during the 2006 World Cup in Germany.Not missing a beat, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shot back:
“I believe you called it the Persian Gulf when you studied in school.”
Just incredibly entertaining!