This morning I’ve been reading about Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi (903-986), author of The Book of Fixed Stars, which built on the work of Ptolemy after the Greek tradition in astronomy began to die out in the West. al-Sufi had an observatory in Shiraz where, among other things, he documented the Andromeda galaxy. In The Book of Fixed Stars, his illustrations show the constellations twice, in mirror image, so that the reader can see how the stars would appear in the sky as well as on a celestial globe. I believe this is Ursa Major.
al-Sufi’s son, Ibn al-Sufi, wrote a poem to accompany the book and I’ve been trying to find an English translation. These were accomplished scientists, scholars and artists, and it is astonishing that this rich tradition has been twisted and misconstrued in contemporary political thinking.
...Theresa Kishkan 
The current political system reflects a lack of knowledge of world history but it also reflects the more in-the-moment nature of war and colonialism: those who win write the history. You-know-who is managing the government and diplomacy on the first rule of business (and war): When you take over a company you thoroughly clean house in order to build the strongest most loyal team possible. You’re with or you’re against. Period.
And it’s such a grim paradigm, isn’t it? I want more of the world. More of us!
a beautiful response to this horror. thank you.
Thanks, Elaine. Important to remember that we’re all connected.