Another confusing aspect of studying the Middle East are the people. The terms Muslim, Middle East and Arab are often used interchangeably. However, not all Arabs are Muslims and not all Muslims are Arab. In fact, only about 20% of Muslims are Arab. As for Arabs, the vast majority are Muslim, but there are also Christian Arabs and Jewish Arabs. Maybe the largest confusion is Iranians, they are not Arabs at all, but Persians.
Historically Speaking 