Challenging the European prism
Throughout the chapters, we’ve noticed that the history of textile is written from a European perspective. For instance, the Silk Road is viewed as the first web of globalization. However, Africa had its own trading routes that existed centuries before the Silk Road, and during its heyday. In reference books, the Silk Road era dates from the 130 BC to 1453. Nevertheless, the Silk Road continued to exist afterwards, albeit at a lesser scale. The year 1453 was chosen since it coincides with the fall of Constantinople, which marked the end of European power, and trading interests, in the region. Another notable example is “Islamic Textile”. What makes a textile Islamic? The labelling doesn’t make sense. Also, “Islamic Textile” ends with the fall of the Ottoman empire in 1922. Following that flawed logic, textile should have seized to exist in Islamic countries for a century now, which isn’t the case. The naming, scoping and framing of the narratives only reflects a European-centric historical account of textile making by Islamic populations. Therefore, it is time for us to challenge that European prism, and write our side of textile history.
By Christelle Daher