Manama: A Saudi actress is leading a drive on Facebook to ensure that the stretch of water between the Arab countries and Iran is called the Arabian Gulf and not the Persian Gulf.
"This is a critical issue and I urge all people to vote to make search engines and other refer to it as the Arabian Gulf," Reem Abdullah said.
"We need to reach as many people as possible so that our Arabian Gulf is recognised as such," she wrote on her Facebook and referred to a website asking surfers to vote whether the Gulf is Arabian or Persian.
Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries have often been at odds over the name of the waterway.
Tehran's insistence
Tehran has vehemently insisted on calling it the Persian Gulf and has taken action against publications referring to it by the correct name.
For Arabs, the Arabian Gulf, which lies to the east of the Arab countries and west of Iran, gets its name from the fact that its waters lap the shores of Arab countries — the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Iraq.
The Gulf has an area of 233,100 square kilometres and extends 970 kilometres from the Shatt Al Arab delta to the Strait of Hormuz, which links it with the Gulf of Oman.
Reem's call is likely to be taken up by many of her 291,000 friends and fans on the social network.
The Saudi actress often uses her account to discuss arts and music as well as her work. She often publishes clippings and articles published in the Arabic media and takes up social issues.
Last month, she sharply criticised Arab television stations for promoting smoking by broadcasting dramas in which actors are seen smoking or holding cigarettes or enjoying shisha.
