Why would I understand that? Is this a European thing, calling Arabs Asians?
Essentially he is right, but it is more British terminology. In the U.S. I believe we consider the people he's referring to as Middle Easterners.
In the United Kingdom, the term "Asian" is more commonly associated with
people of South Asian origin, particularly Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans. The UK usage of the term "Asian" is reflected in the "ethnic group" section of UK census forms, which treat "Asian" and "Chinese" as separate (see British Asian).
Middle Asia is associated with Middle Eastern people.
The 1.3 billion people who consider themselves Islam live all over the world. This religion is second only to Christianity, which has 2.1 billion followers scattered allover the globe.