Lads, by your logic the USA is European because almost all its inhabitants are descended from Europe, most speak European languages, and its culture is a derivation of European culture. Egypt is an African country. the Middle East is entirely in Asia
Just to clarify, I'm not trying to make the usual "Americans know nothing of outside America" argument, because I know it isnt always true, but I've never encountered anyone but North Americans who think Egypt is anyhting other than an african country. Would ye classify Morroco, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania etc as African?
Well, most of us are descended from Europeans, but most of us are also descended from Africans and Amerindians as well. People generally hid that part of their ancestry from their children, though, so many 'whites' aren't aware of those branches of their family tree.
And while the US is culturally linked to Europe, it is at least as tied to Mexico, Cuba, and Canada.
You certainly can talk about those countries and Europe as part of a larger culture, but you'd probably call it the 'Western World' instead of Europe (and you'd also throw in Australia, New Zealand, and perhaps South America).
It's all about using classifications that make sense. The idea that Europe is a
separate continent from Asia while India/Packistan is a mere
subcontinent of Asia is silly. The term Europe is still quite useful as a description for an area of a shared culture and history. The Ural mountains have been a barrier that slowed cultural diffusion, but it didn't stop it. The Sahara desert has probably been just a big a barrier as the Urals.
Morroco, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt all have more in common with Saudi Arabia and Iraq than with Senegal, Nigeria or Kenya. The Sudan, Mauritania, and Eritrea are probably equally culturally tied to north and south.
When people talk about Africa generally they're talking about Sub-Saharan Africa, just as when people talk about Asia they're normally referring to South or East Asia. If they want to talk about Iran or Egypt or Palestine they'll generally use the term 'Middle East'. 'Middle East' is a completely arbitrary term. Many people will have different definitions of what countries are included in the phrase, but I think most would certainly include Egypt. According to the
Wickipedia article, the airline industry has one of the most widely used definitions of the 'Middle East'. According to them, Egypt, Somalia, and the Sudan are all part of the Middle East.
And this isn't just Americans. I've lived in Europe and generally watch a little bit of news from European networks regularly. If they're running a story from Libya or Morocco they're not likely to mention the word 'Africa' in their story at all, while if it's from Niger or Kenya the word Africa is more likely to come up. Perhaps they refer to it as an African country (as opposed to a Mediterranean country, or a Middle Eastern country). Or maybe they'll be talking about the African Union or one of the regional economic organizations. Tunisia's membership in the African Union might come up in a story about the country, but it's membership in the Arab League is more likely to be mentioned.
Yes, taking 'Africa' as shorthand for 'Sub-Saharan Africa' isn't technically correct, but it's not senseless. And when people in these forums talk about giving Africa and Asia representation before another Europe or Middle Eastern civ, I don't think you should assume they aren't aware that Sumer is in Asia and Carthage is in Africa.
I didn't know that continental drift was that fast.
