In his own words, Greg Mortenson is quite a bit more revealing about his motives in Pakistan. Pax Americana is definitely a subtlety lost on him.
This map is from the Central Asia Institute‘s own brochure. It shows the parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan where Greg Mortenson’s CAI has helped finance community building projects. I thought the shaded area formed an interesting buffer zone along the border to… CHINA! Is that region of greater interest peacewise than the war-torn borders facing Afghanistan or India?!
The current Independent features a cover story on Mortensen, to promote his Jan 15 Colorado College appearance. It turns out he’s as inarticulate as his dictation of Three Cups of Tea suggests. Here’s how Mortenson regards his unwitting Islamic accomplices:
…we bring in mullahs who support girls’ education. We have two ex-Taliban who are now teaching in our girls’ schools and have become some of our biggest proponents. It’s somewhat similar to an ex-smoker or an alcoholic who has changed and becomes very against smoking or drinking.
Here Mortenson describes how his schools convince Muslim communities to enroll their girls:
We even use good old-fashioned Western capitalism. We go and tell a mullah: If I want to marry a girl in your village, how many goats do I owe you? He might say five goats. If she has a fifth-grade education, how many goats would I then have to pay you? And the answer would probably be 15 to 20 goats. A goat is usually $30 to $40 each.
And then we tell the mullah: If all the girls are educated, just think of how much more wealth you’d have. Then you can see his eyes get bigger.
At least Mortenson is up front about the Capitalist invasion for which he plays scout. Evidently the untapped region’s girls are for sale, and once educated they’ll have value-added for mercantilism.
American society tends to glorify education for its own sake. What “education” is CAI providing to the Muslims exactly? Do CAI’s texts teach that secular culture is intent on the eradication of spiritual culture? Is the CAI curriculum simply favoring western indoctrination over an Islamist counterpart? I’ll let Mortenson show his hand:
perhaps the most controversial, is our Islamic studies for about two or three hours every week. It’s very tempered, and we include in that learning the differences between Sunni and Shia. We’ve also added what you might call religion studies, or learning about different faiths or religion.
In a monotheistic society you need that like emperor penguins need tap dancing lessons. Imagine the uproar if we tried to teach New Life Church kids that the faith of their parents was only one extreme of many! A good idea no doubt, but unlikely to provoke a peaceful reaction.
POSTSCRIPT
Our junior high student came home yesterday with three promotional pieces about Three Cups of Tea in advance of Mortenson making an appearance at her school. Do you wonder how he’s getting such press? One of the pamphlets instructs the children about how they can “Help Three Cups of Tea (3CT) surge:” (My emphasis, their slip of the forked tongue)
1. Recommend 3CT to at least one person or place: family, friend, colleague, book club, professor and teacher, student, and places of worship. It also makes a great gift! (You’ve got to be kidding me! 3CT practically screams you’re illiterate.)
2. Visit 3CT website…
3. Recommend 3CT for ‘One Book – One Read’ at http://www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/one-book.html (please don’t).
4. Recommend 3CT as a University or college-wide… read http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/articles/070607/7summer.htm (YGTBFKM)
5. Ask bookstores without 3CT to stock the book, especially airport bookstores. (?)
6. Send 3CT with a personal note to your Senators and/or Representatives (US legislators, why?)
7. Write a ‘letter editor’ [sic] to suggest 3CT and to support education and literacy… to promote peace, economic development and prosperity. (Emphasis mine. Co-opting Muslim girls for Capitalism promotes peace how?)
8. Ask magazines, newspapers, or radio station [sic] to review 3CT (they suggest sending a copy)
9. Learn about the power of girls’ education… in What Works in Girls Education (by Neocon think tank author Barbara Hertz)
10. Learn about grassroots book promotion…
11. Suggest 3CT to Oprah: http://www.oprah.com/email/reach/email_showideas.jhtml
12. Suggest 3CT to C-Span 202-737-0580.
13. Write a book review on Amazon.com, bn.com… (No need, it’s getting slammed! Too bad my Junior High principle isn’t getting a clue. Are our teachers illiterate too?)
14. Start Pennies For Peace in your school, library, or place of worship… http://www.penniesforpeace.org
Billions for war, but apparently we need only pennies for peace.
Hopefully 3CT’s proceeds are going toward peace. (Marie reports their financials say it’s “up to 7%,” so hey, they do mean single-cent figures!) Perhaps Mortenson can earmark some of the Coins for Cultural Sensitivity.
POST-POSTSCRIPT
The Amazon reviews are uproarious! But 3CT trolls are loading the funniest with bad marks where it asks Do you find this review helpful, so you’ll have to look fast. I’ll reprint a couple below.
By the way, Three Cups of Tea, One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace… was originally released as Three Cups of Tea, One Man’s Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations. It wasn’t selling the mission?
I’ll work up my own slipcover for Mortenson’s speaking engagement, with help from the comments below. Hopefully he’ll be good-natured enough to sign it:
Three Cups of Tedium: One Man’s Mission to be a Dhimmi
-A Condescending Westerner who attempt to “educate” Muslims.
(This is part 2 of 3 pieces: a review of the 3CT book, the promotion around the book tour, and Mortenson’s public appearance.)
Three of the “Least Helpful” reviews reprinted from Amazon:
Think green, and save a tree!, January 5, 2008
By Book Maven (Colorado)
Without recounting the whole 338 pages, this book is basically about a man who was the son of missionaries in Africa who didn’t decide to lead a productive life until his mid-thirties. The voice of the book jumps between a first and third-person narration, “stories” are interspersed with exagerated travelogue, and personal politics are interjected which are irrelevant to the message Mortenson claims he wants to bring to the world. Does the author really believe the public will buy the baloney that he is privy to presidential phone call information? Anyone who is thinking of reading this book should wait until one is passed along to them as there certainly are a lot of gifts floating around.
PS — To anyone reading this review, don’t be surprised to find an inordinate amount of “no help” ratings. The Greg-Groupies apparently work 24/7 to discredit anyone who doesn’t agree with them.
T for Tedious, September 19, 2007
By Neu Hemenway “sumeto” (Wash. D.C.)
This book is a hagiography of an admittedly saint-like fellow, Greg Mortensen, who — like most saints — is a pain in the butt. He is tenacious and uncompromising, clever, curious (learning a great deal about the peoples and languages in Pakistan and Afghanistan), dedicated, and has no sense of humor or irony. A mountain climber who sleeps in his car and works part-time, Mortensen — after getting lost in the Himalayas — vows to return to the Pakistani villagers who saved his life and build them a school. Doing this all by himself, as opposed to, for example, working thru UNICEF or Habitat for Humanity, Mortensen runs into predictable snafus. His biographer never met an adjective he didn’t like, and gives backstory on every character who wanders across the screen. I finally started reading only the first sentence of each paragraph, and found the book much more coherent that way. It’s a long shapeless story.
Worst writing I’ve read in a long time, October 20, 2006
By xofezura
This review is from: Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations…One School at a Time (Hardcover)
You decide for yourself what you think about Mortenson. I think the subtitle of the book should be “How One Man Became a Dhimmi.”
What I will say is that the writing of the co-writer is nauseating. It is the most frantically hysterical hagiography you’ll ever see. “The crystalline daggers of the mountain ranges scratched their way like deranged fingernails into the howling wind of the overarching midnight blue ocean of the sky–the same sky that hung over the head of the ancient, proud, morally superior, but so horribly vulnerable people that Mortenson had left the despicable excesses of the United States and crossed the earth pennilessly to save before it was too late.”
I made that sentence up but it is better than a lot of the sentences in the book. Read at your own peril.
JFK- June 10, 1963 in commencement address to American University:
“I have, therefore, chosen this time and place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth too rarely perceived. And that is the most important topic on earth: peace.
“What kind of peace do I mean and what kind of a peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave.
“I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, and the kind that enables men and nations to grow, and to hope, and build a better life for their children — not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women, not merely peace in our time but peace in all time.”
What is your point? A man makes educating the desperate people along the Himalaya his life’s work and you criticize his speaking and writing abilities. I am not sure of YOUR motives. Who are you to judge? Have you attempted K2? Do you know what life is like in the Himalaya? Go there and you will see why he has made that particular region his focus.
Maybe the point you missed is that the mission is being sponsored, at least locally, by the same people who believe and teach that cluster bombs and land mines are a great way to teach the Afghan and Pakistani peoples the appropriate “lessons”.
Any friend of Mad Prince George couldn’t be too much interested in the People M.P.G. aka GWB is interested in enslaving to his own corporate interests.
Wow. Ripping this guy apart makes as much sense as pulling your own eyes out. I don’t get it. Are you so bitter that your liberalism rejects supporting education, education that frees people from ignorance at the very least? While you spew hatred, this guy tries to give back in a way that has inspired thousands. Your site does nothing of the sort.
If Mortenson weren’t being supported by people such as Dobson, who are at the very least misogynistic as the Taliban, you would have a point.
In that light, our “Educated and enlightened Western plan for world dominance” is every bit as regressive and repressive as that of Osama bin Laden.
It’s not any coincidence that the people who promoted the rise of the Bush Empire, including the aforementioned Mortenson and Dobson, also promoted the rise of the Taliban and al Qa’eda.
al Qa’eda was on the Reagan Revolution payroll…
And Mortenson.
And Dobson.
And, it never was a coincidence.
Did you even read the book? Your comments lead me to believe the answer is no. I looked for information to support your statement that Dobson (you never mention which one) supports Mortenson, but I could not find any. Even so, if The Dr. Dobson supports a guy promoting peace…all the better. If you read the book you would know that Mortenson in no way supports the Taliban (see your above comment). I agree with Steven. Mortenson is doing something good for the world. You are spewing hatred and lies.
Not supporting peace, supporting the “American Ideal” which is really contrary to peace.
Personally I don’t much care if he knows how to write or speak effectively.
On the second half of that sentence he would make me look the stammering fool.
Which leads to the obvious response, I know, it’s too easy…
A cheap shot would still be a cheap shot.
But “teaching them a less radical form of Islam” amounts to us being rather condescending.
The Pentagoons did exactly this, and they even boasted of it, they used American Muslim chaplains to re-indoctrinate the inmates at Abu Ghraib.
They also used Torture, threats of murder and apparently, the inmates being forced to witness actual murders.
The Pentagoon official said “it makes it easier To Bend Them To OUR Will
He also laughingly boasted that the Newly Indoctrinated Inmates BEAT UP those who refused to “go along to get along”… In other words, an American sponsored act of Religious Intolerance (spewing hatred, anyone?) and Religious Terrorism.
Incidentally, these Indoctrinated Inmates did the bidding of their New American Masters…
…while the American Military Police not only watched without interfering, they admittedly ENCOURAGED the terrorist attack.
Probably set it up, because this is Typical Police Courage, to have their Brainwashed New Recruits outnumber the “non compliant” ones.
You’ll either excuse me for recognizing more of the same in Mortenson’s ministry…
… or you won’t…
Either way it won’t make me less right nor you more right.
now, the pamphlet mentions the notion of promoting 3CT like Missionary Students are encouraged to promote LDS, or Jehovah’s Witnesses, Unification Church, Hare Krishna….
I won’t come out and just accuse y’all of using a search engine to find negative reviews of 3TC and then posting “negative reviews” of those negative reviews.
Much like what was noted on Amazon.
I will point out that Steve, Steven and Jack aren’t familiar to me.
Of course I haven’t blogged as regularly as I should, so you might actually be regular correspondents to the weblog, and I just missed it.
However, the behavior noted by commentators at the Amazon site is commonly referred to in internet slang as “trolling”. If you ARE, indeed, Trolling, you owe it to yourselves to just stop doing it. In regular social intercourse and especially on the Internet, and especially on Other Peoples Blogs, that would be what’s referred to in the Long Forgotten Tongue as “being polite”.
Eric’s blog is very progressive in comparison to many others, including, or at least (and here I step onto the proverbial limb) I assume the 3CT website, which censor negative comments more or less arbitrarily.
Many of those Web Logs are maintained by Christians. I am not Christ, I can not judge, realistically, who is or is not using His Name in vain. However some of their methods don’t really speak well of Christians in general and, sadly, the non-believers will judge ME by their antics, and more importantly, ALL of Christianity and Christ Himself.
Again, if you are in fact doing such things, you owe it to yourselves to stop.
You would also owe it to the Church in general and Christ in particular.
One really bothersome statement, that leads one to believe that you are, in fact, Trolling, is your accusation of “Hate Speech” worded slightly differently.
This is the standard Right Wing Hate-Freak troll accusation.
anybody who criticizes their lower-case “g” gods Bush or Rush or, in this case, Mortenson, is accused of “hatred” for not agreeing with those lower-case gods.
You could demonstrate your good intentions by being a little more polite.
Mind you, we aren’t the ones sending Armed Missionaries such as the Islamic chaplains sent to the Torture Dungeons of Abu Ghraib, Khandahar and Guantanamo.
Nor are we the ones forcing American young men to go and spread “freedom” by the sword, (and those who don’t accept “our” version of democracy and freedom are either killed outright or labeled “Terrorists” and cast into the torture dungeons)
In fact, we ourselves face persecution, beatings, arrests, possibly being murdered, by OPPOSING such arrogant hate-crimes.
Right here in “Christian” Colorado Springs we’re threatened, and all the while the terrorist cowards call us “haters” and accusing us of “hate-speech propaganda” for daring to say God said “Thou Shalt Not Kill”.
If you’re not like that, then do demonstrate that you are not.
Bravo Jonah. Thank you! Mortenson’s disciples are certainly spreading wide the offensive. Having read his book, or heard his speech, they are suddenly expert enough to accuse “have YOU climbed K2?” or “what are YOU doing to help?” etc!
I liked Mortenson, and I admire his spirit. We share similarities of growing up overseas, seeing the third world, and believing in altruistic pursuits. I even honor his educational goals. But in my opinion, it’s the wrong time to crusade against Islam, either militarily or subversively.
Yeah, I kind of get the impression that they’re not even from the springs…
something about you not having any business, criticizing a book…
at least they don’t say you have no Right to do it.
Me likey you, Jonah. The kindergarten analysis of Mortenson (so last week anyway) graciously provided to NMT by those fellas have no thread rights on this blog, which is inhabited by intelligent sorts, incisive thinkers, brilliant social analysts and people who aren’t afraid to question motives and connections, even when outcomes appear positive.
If they try to comment again, I say we ignore ’em.
I started the book, waited till someone lent it to me, thinking I would not much care for Mr. M, the whole missionary/save the children thing I have witnessed over and over after 30 years in latin America. I was wrong, the guy is alright, I am amazed that critics here don’t seem to have read the book, sure it is not great writing, but to impute that what Mr. M is doing is just another CIA ploy is nonsense or that in some way he is not much different than what happened at Abu Ghraib, would the Council of Mullahs in Pakistan make a ruling that reads, “Dear Compassionate of the Poor, our Holly Koran tells us all children should receive education, including our daughters and sisters. Your noble work follows the highest principles of the Islam, to tend to the poor and sick. In the Holy Koran there is no law to prohibit an infidel from providing assistance to our Muslim brothers and sisters. Therefore, we direct all clerics in Pakistan to not interfere with your noble intentions. You have our permission, blessings, and prayers.” Would like to add that this decree only came after he had built the first 3 schools and had a village mullah try and put a stop to him through a fatwah, so they investigate the schools, see if there is any none islamic teachings, and him personally to see if he drank or chased their women.
Could be a rarity, just a good guy doing some good.
And, Eric DID read the book. Guess that got lost.
He has not only the same right as anyone to criticize any literary work, it’s literally his business to do stuff like that.
He owns a bookstore.
Spreading capitalism and calling it Christian is a double lie.
it ties in very neatly, for some apparently unfathomable reason, with the RightWing saying that Islam = Terrorism or that Capitalism = Anti – Terrorism.
Maybe it isn’t Mr M’s fault, but he is more sloppy a writer than I am a speaker. And the way his book is promoted here in the Springs is that he’s fighting Terror by exporting Private (capitalist) Education.
If he’s being exploited by the Right he needs to stand up to them.
If not, then he needs to get that modern equivalent of a swastika armband, the “american” flag with 7 stripes and 18 stars. The one that screams “if you’re not wearing this corrupted version of the American Flag you must be a Terrorist Hippie Liberal Commie Freak”
(by a bizarre coincidence made in America, the Chinese know more about our flag than most Americans know about our flag. Especially the ones who designed or worse, buy and then WEAR the “badge of dishonor”)
Basically he stands in peril of having his initiative co-opted by the Reich.
The bit about his selling the idea of his schools on the basis of “if an uneducated girl sells for x number of goats, and an educated one sells for 3x number of goats” is kind of eye-catching.
And that one is from a FRIENDLY reviewer.
Also the very obviously Organized Hit Squad actions by fans of the book to squelch negative reviews smacks strongly of Fascism.
They want to use Fascist tactics, they ought to learn to live with the label of Fascist.
Very simple equation.
I don’t know if Mortenson himself is behind those tactics.
But from the Amazon Book review/comments section:
“PS — To anyone reading this review, don’t be surprised to find an inordinate amount of “no help” ratings. The Greg-Groupies apparently work 24/7 to discredit anyone who doesn’t agree with them.”
See, if something like 5 people put a “no help” or “thumbs down” rating on a review, the review is automatically hidden with a message that there were so many negative ratings Of The Review…
If I were to go to Amazon and just start giving Thumbs down or “no help” ratings to every POSITIVE review of this or any other book, the screams of “Fascism! Nazi Thug Tactics! Help o somebody Please Help! Those Left Wing HATE SPEECH thugs are at it again!” would be heard loudly even though it’s only written down on a website.
Tit for Tat, gentlemen, tit for tat.
I feel for you people, that you twist one guys good vib into some sort of fasist conspiricy is an incedible loss of your obvious talent, why don’t you pull your head into the light and go after the real bad guys
If I were free, I would add water
How many PENNIES 4 PEACE go to the payroll for web kapos like you? I mean, honestly, you have the same talking points!
We have no “obvious talent” but we do have a nose for fraud, spin, and the usual imperialist agenda. Mortenson’s literacy ideals are great, but he’s being used to further Capitalist inroads on Islam.
quote “capitalist inroads on Islam”
…also on Christianity.
Which isn’t a capitalist faith, although quite a few of my fellow Christians like to twist Jesus’ words (He also never wrote a book, wasn’t a world traveler and never held public office) to somehow endorse capitalism, a supposed Christian duty to run things politically as well as financially, (it’s called “Dominionist Theology”) and even to kill people.
I did a search for negative comments about this book, and this is the site I was directed to.
I lead a group discussion each month, and three cups of tea is this month’s selection. I like to get views from all sides to keep the conversation flowing. Nothing is worse than a book that everybody agrees on. If anyone is looking for a good book club book this is a good one! Thank you for the fonder, we will have a heated discussion at book club on Thursday.
Well, as a Muslim and a semi-Pakistani, all I have to say is that I can’t judge which side is right. Brother Jonas has some very good points about how people misuse Christianity the way they misuse Islam to further their selfish motive. But, to go ahead and call the remarks facist is going a little too far. Greg Mortenson is a nice man, and whatever his motives, he’s doing a good job for the people. Abt the goats, a bit of bargaining is always fine when it comes to narrow-minded and uneducated mullahs, believe me, I know how they can be. All in all, we shouldn’t be turning this whole thing into a conspiracy theory, what he’s doing is fine and should be supported.
So maybe you don’t like the way this book is written? Or maybe even the way he comes off personality-wise? But this man did something wonderful for many children who needed something wonderful done for them. This is ridiculous, and until any of the people that are ripping him apart can say that they’ve built schools for impoverished children who need them, I think they should keep their mouths shut.
Building schools, or bombing schools? That’s what the US government itself is doing in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Jacq. Bombing and killing innocent civilians and occupying their countries.
Do you support the occupation of their country, Afghanistan, by foreign US troops, and now the further extension of that brutality into Pakistan? Mortenson is doing sugar coating for what ‘the troops’ are doing, and that’s the real reason his book got published. Some Americans just don’t seem to have a clue!
Ripping him apart? He’s selling his book, making his share of Money, and as far as I know has still got all his original pieces attached.
Again somebody doing a search for Negative Comments.
What are you guys, a Cult or something?
are we going to open our doors one morning and each of will have a group of freaks standing there, all hollow-eyed, looking like Goths Gone Mad, pentagrams carved in their foreheads, chanting Three-cups Three-cups Three-cups Three-cups…?
Get a GRIP, People!!
It’s a Fucking Book Review!
Not everybody in the World is going to praise your Guru Greg Manso.. oops I mean Mortenson.
He isn’t the Second Coming of Jim Jones, no matter how much good or bad he’s done in the world.
As a Christian he should be telling you Freaks to back the hell off, because you’ve gone way over the line into Idolatry.
Jacq, you don’t live in the Springs and have never read the rest of this website, have you?
One book review and we get the Zombies from “Omega Man” storming the fortress every night, with their torches and Matthias leading them in chants of “Evil! Evil! Evil!”
Comment from Steven
Time: March 28, 2008, 4:05 pm
Wow. Ripping this guy apart
Comment from Jacq
Time: September 13, 2008, 1:20 pm
blah blah blah until any of the people that are ripping him apart blah blah blah I think they should keep their mouths shut.
Why don’t you leave wherever the fuck you are and come to the Springs and See If You Can Make Me “Keep My Mouth Shut” Motherfucker?
ChickenHawk Bullshit.
Bring your Cult with you, you’ll need all the help you can get.
Comment from Owais Azharuddin
Time: July 28, 2008, 8:52 pm
OK so I just cut’n’pasted to make sure i spelled your name right.
salaam aleikut .
Not knowing Mr Mortenson personally, but being familiar with the Yankee government (all too familiar) I wouldn’t know how closely he has to ‘toe the line” with them just to get in and out of the Occupied Zones. Or “liberated zones” depending on political orientation.
If you know any about Who’s Who in the local governments over there, (and been able to keep up for the past 3 months) that’ll be constructive.
I can’t imagine a country being semi-run by our Beloved Army and CIA actually letting somebody go in and out unsupervised unless they’re convinced he’s working for them.
They’re not trusting sorts and wouldn’t look on anybody as “harmless”.
I think I said that a few times but not entirely sure.
So for the political aspects of the book and author, eh…
All I have to go on is the Berzerk behavior of his self-appointed Fan Club.
Their actions were mentioned in the original post, exactly describing what each of them would do in his individual attack on our rights to differ.
We get that a lot, from people actually here in the middle of the United States, so we get a little uptight about it from time to time.
Yours was the best and most thoughtful of any that supported or at least didn’t oppose the book and author.
Doesn’t surprise me at all. So far, the representatives of your faith have done 100% courteous.
I’ve not met nor possibly could meet every Muslim in the world, or even in Colorado, but you know, Muslim people, supposedly the ‘enemy’ or So Our Government Tells Us… never once insulted or threatened me.
That’s an accomplishment almost exclusively of my “christian” brothers.
May your days bring peace and your nights bring Dreams of peace.
Can someone give me information on pennies for peace? I was told by my principal that we a starting a funraiser at our school. (I am a teacher.) Should I support this cause?
Ummm…
The debates continue on it.
Does your principal demand that you participate?
If you’re at a Public School then you’re a government worker and he’s your supervisor, and the religious nature implied in the book would make it illegal for him to require you to participate.
Whether Mr Mortensen’s mission or book are about an attempt to proselytize the kiddoes in Afghanistan and Pakistan…
That’s not made clear in the book, hence the critique on this particular site.
His fan club are kind of rabid and are starting to resemble Moonies or Zombies right about now.
Hence their outrageously outraged reactionary denunciations of us for daring to criticize or hold a different point of view.
I won’t push an answer off on you though.
Your agreement or non agreement with his mission, his book or the way you perceive any of it, would be yours and only yours.
Pennies For Peace, Billions for the banks.
b=70,000,000,000,000 x p
As a matter of fact, my principal did strongly IMPLY that we are required to participate in pennies for peace program.
Jonah, I have not read the book, it it truely religious in nature?
Eric – please explain what you mean by billions for the banks? How much of the donations go to the schools in afganistan and Pakistan? How much of the money goes to mr. mortenson?
I have a friend who recently returned from his tour of duty for the “war” in Iraq and said that this money won’t help anyone who needs it…
I have a friend who recently returned from his tour of duty for the “war” in Iraq and said that this money won’t help anyone who needs it…
True. They would need the money of Bill Gates or Warren Buffett to even begin to touch the needs of Afghanistan alone after what it has been through.
I’d say rather than buy the book, borrow it.
I would bet that every public library in America has at least one copy, donated of course.
My own religious opinion is that Capitalism is an idolatrous worship of money.
Jesus spoke against it quite a few times, when the one fellow tempted him to speak out against the Roman Tax Collectors, and He said “show me the money for the tax” and the guy whoops out a penny.. it was a penny with the Graven Image of Tiberias, who was worshipped as a god.
As of the day before Yesterday the British were saying “Look, the only thing we can do for Afghanistan now is choose a dictator for them and leave”
In Iraq, which is a whole nother story, there actually were educational opportunities for girls.
As evidenced by the lady called Dr Germ, I use her example a lot because the Bush Regime keeps telling us that Saddam was a “Islamofascist”.
Also there were a sizeable amount of Christians there, if the numbers the Bush Regime provides are correct, they were about a quarter of the population.
Tariq Aziz is an Abyssinian Catholic.
Sha’ariah is something practiced by our Freedom Loving Kingdoms of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
His book fans claim a Religious connection for his work.
Actually it was the US government that smashed women’s rights in Afghanistan to shreds when they supported Osama bin laden’s warfare against the Soviet Union backed Afghan government several decades ago. See the site below for a little bit of discussion of that.
http://www.glennsacks.com/us_policy_has.htm
I do not understand the motivation for all the mis-information you seem to have given this book. I do not personally know whether Mr. Mortenson is the “real-deal” or not, but after reading Three Cups of Tea, I can’t see how you hold onto so much cynicism. If you have ever experienced even the slightest bit of depravity, you would understand how important education is to a family who wishes to see their children become independent of there own struggles and be able to use their minds instead of simply there hands and backs.
Where is your evidence that these schools indoctrinate? It was my understanding from testimony, interviews, and the book itself that Mr. Mortenson would have had no credibility in the region whatsoever if its people believed this to be true.
— I believe this article should be viewed with the utmost scrutiny.
Lucas, I do not intend to reveal your email address, but I must call you out for writing from a [university].edu. Holy Cow, are you kidding?
We’ve posted no misinformation here. It’s called research. Greg Mortenson stumbled down a mountain, and developed an earnest project that became a USAID/CIA/DHS scheme.
There is no worldwide clash with Islam except when we threaten Muslims with capitalist exploitation and our attempts to corrupt it with anti-spiritual Western values.
forget the taliban, (if its even them in the first place thats blowing up schools) id blow up the schools myself- of course id ensure there were no girls inside, only Mr Mortensen!
Another phony internet id from the Zionist spam machine. They never stop it seems….
ReferralServer: whois://whois.afrinic.net
NetRange: 196.0.0.0 – 196.255.255.255
CIDR: 196.0.0.0/8
NetName: NET196
NetHandle: NET-196-0-0-0-0
OrgName: African Network Information Center
OrgID: AFRINIC
Address: 03B3 – 3rd Floor – Ebene Cyber Tower
Address: Cyber City
Address: Ebene
Address: Mauritius
City: Ebene
StateProv:
PostalCode: 0001
Country: MU
Is the “Zionist spam machine” located in Mauritius?
This is the first time I’ve ever read a blog and decided to reply because I am beyond surprised at how negative people can be about the glimmer of hope these kids are getting… my interpretation of his comments were not because he was trying to be a capatalist, but trying to in a way ‘ trick’ the mullah into letting the girls go to school. like the 3 billy goats gruff… and considering that all their schools are run by locals, I don’t think that they are teaching the students to be fundamentalist capitalists or american die hard supporters. It sounds like they are trying to the best of their ability and resources, give them a balanced and relevant education and while I am sure we could all pick it apart and say what we thought would be more valuable or appropriate, the main point is that they are getting the opportunity to participate in their own lives and feel a little bit of hope that they could also participate in their future and the future of their country. For both the students and teachers.
It seems unfair that you can only see the guy for being a poor writer or for his character flaws, and can’t see that he’s done something that has the potential to have a bigger positive impact on Pakistan and Afghanistan than I would guess any of you have on any part of the world. Of course there will always be an angle or set of values which are the basis for any moral teachings, but it doesn’t sound like they are teaching all these kids to dream of being rappers with gold teeth or emulate paris hilton or build a giant glass church. Perhaps I am the naive one to believe that itcould actually be a group of moderate minded locals being given the chance to teach their children how to read and write and count and about the world they live in.
The effort some of you have gone to hate on this guy really seems like a sad waste of energy.
I hope that the schools are a raging success and I hope that all the children, teachers and families involved get the opportunity to live a happy and prosperous life beyond their wildest dreams – with or without the support of Mr Mortenson or any of you for that matter.
You ignorant, ignorant bigots.
Get the US OUT of Afghanistan and Pakistan now, Olive Oil!
Education inspires fear. Fear demands protection. Protection requires structure. Structure preserves all the above. Human life is incapable of being separate from these ideas and that is the only way we have survived this long and will continue to survive. We will continually adapt and evolve and our ability to learn is the scientific reason and spiritual hope for that survival. Greg Mortenson certainly changed the world. For better or worse? The world will argue that indefinitely. Whether you believe its your cup of tea or not, none of us are any different than Greg Mortenson. He just accepted reality much easier than most and did his best, by his standards, to make his world a better place. For those who have no standards or are struggling with finding them perhaps you should not be so ungrateful to the silver spoons you’ve been fed from.
I’ve googled “greg mortenson criticism” and this page is the first (and probably the only) that came up and virtually no other pages with much criticism at all.
So, I gave this author a chance and tried to find what his points are. As expected, I couldn’t find a single valid point.
So, I believe my initial assessment that what Mortenson is doing is something wonderful and will pledge him whatever financial support I can afford.
Thanks for helping me confirm that Mortenson is not a con-man.
Larax, I wouldn’t want you to miss out on reading the other commentaries and websites that somewhat diss your saintly hero, ex (or not so ex) Soldier Greg Mortensen like some haver done here on NMT. Here is
Greg Mortenson’s Participatory Militarism
Three Cups of Tea for Imperialism!
By MIICHAEL BARKER
at http://www.counterpunch.org/barker08102010.html
And here he is posing with US Admiral Mullen in an article titled very appropriately enough…
‘Greg Mortenson Takes Lessons from Pakistan to U.S. Troops in Afghanistan’
at http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20014194-503544.html
What a friend for the US military as they occupy other countries! According to the New York Times, he’s a great buddy of US General McChrystal, too. Go figure? They must have prayer meetings together….
‘Mr. Mortenson also had set up some three dozen meetings between General Stanley A. McChrystal or his senior staff members and village elders across Afghanistan.’
That’s a lot of joint meetings! Do you think that he’s convinced them to call Obama up and have the Pentagon pull out or Iraq and Afghanistan yet, so that he can build more schools for Muslim girls?
One thing is certain, and we see that here in Colorado Springs often enough. It is not just the Conservative Christian Right Wing that cuddles up to the US military in their own, ever charming way, but it is also the Liberal Pacifist Christians who do it, too! They think it patriotic to do so, and so does Mortenson.
If Mortenson had been German in the times of Adolph, I wonder how many teas he would have had with the Fuhrer? What’s your guess, Larax?
Hello Readers. I am surprised on your comments. Had any of you been in the area, where Greg build school “Korphe”. There are two different aspects of Greg’s activity.
A) About schooling, his work is good but
B) Most of the interesting stories in his book 3-cups of tea is just FALSE- Self fabricated, based on dis-honesty… so garbage… Now read the following:
On page 10 he writes” An hour earlier, or maybe more, he had heard the bells of an army mule caravan carrying ammunition towards Siachen Glacier, the twenty-thousand-foot-high battlelfield……
He is wondering in Braldo Glacier area which leads to K-2, where as he is hearing the bells, traveling towards “Siachen Glacier”. What a nonsense story.. Check the map of the area. Siachen Glacier is at a distance of 15 days distance, and he hears the bells of the mule caravan carrying ammunition to Pakistan Army????
On page 11 he commits.. In his small sun-faded purploe day-pack he had a lightweight wool Pakisani Army blanket, ……
What ?? how he get this Army Blanket. Just false. Who gave him Pakistan Army Blanket. He was just a nurse with the K-2 expedition, whom the team leader sent back as a punishment. And for the information of the readers, there is no Army en route to K-2.
Actually Greg Mortenson is a son of Chiristian Missionaries, and know how to devide and rule, between the Muslims and the communities, so he has very cleverly and successfully done. He has damaged (a) Islamic values (b) Local culture of Baltistan (c) wrote false stories about Islam, our Scholars, tour operators, porters, families, Islamic Values and many more dirty things.
The story about Syed Abbas and the Red Valvet Box is totally false story, which he has linked with the highest religious leader of Iran. Iranian religious leaders false comments about Greg Mortenson is a blow on the faces of all Americans. Greg has shown that Americans are really not trust worthy people.
If any climber or trekker, who had travelled through the valleys, they can witnessed that
1) Greg has fabricated LOC, in Shigar Valley which is false and dishonest.
2) He has shown ghost school projects in his website under the title Regional Map. Few ghost projects are:
Girls Higher Secondary school in Kande
Girls High school in Gulapur Shigar
Pari Gongma Primary School
Gongma Pari Primary School
Pari Primary school
Jinnah Public School at Skardu
Women honour school in Skardu
Women War zone school in Katisho
Aliabad Girls High School in Hunza
Aliabad Boys high school in Hunza..
In Northern Pakistan, now people laugh when they talk about the stories of 3-cups of tea. If any body want to know the mischief of Greg Mortenson, he can contact me (Ghulam Parvi, about whom Greg wrote on page 138 of 3 cups of tea (hard cover)….”Without Ghuylam Parvi, I never would have accomplished any thing in Pakisgan”., ” My father was able to build his hospital because he had John Moshi, a smart, capable Tanzanian partner. Parvi is my John Moshi. When I was trying to build the first school, I really had no idea what I was doing. Parvi showed me how to get things done,”..
Awesome, Ghulam Parvi. Thank you!
Hello Ignorant Aamerican Readers of 3 cups of tea.
In this New York Times best seller, Greg has given his biography in details. He belongs to a below average family, passing days in miseries. His education, his job training etc. etc. clearly declares his social status.
What a strange thing.. While working with the village communities of such a part of the world, which Americans declare the most underserved region of he World, within no time Greg Mortenson becomes a) Doctor (Medical), Philanthropist, Historian, Religious specialists with reference to Islam and Buddhism, Politician, Bureaucrat, Critic and analyst on Army matters, climber, humanitarian, lover and follower of Mother Tressa, (where people believe a new date of death for the pleasure of Greg), Saver of Balti children in special and Pakistani Children from Taliban. He also comments on the role of Saudi Goverment, Iran Government, Pakistan Government etc. etc. claiming that he is a humble social worker. He also comments on the personal lives of different people and groups of the area, for which no body can allow and tolerate. And in the end, the ignorant American Readers blindly believes on the tales of the book 3 cups of tea.
If you listen to the people on the other end, we declare the book is full of false stories, based on one sided, specially designed against Islam, Balti culture and Pakistan as well. People condemn the contents of the book.
Now see: On page 141 (1st edition) about Korphe Mosque he writes: “It had stood for nearly five hundred years, and had served as a Buddhist temple before Islam had established a foothold in Baltistan”.
On page 142 Greg injects a very poisonous remarks telling: “ A few months earlier, Mortenson had read in the Islamabad papers about Pakistan’s latest wave of Sunni-Shiite violence. A Skardu bound bus had passed through the Indus Gorge on its way up the Karakorum Highway. Just past Chilas, a Sunni-dominated region, a dozen masked men armed with Kalashnikovs blocked the road and forced the passengers out. They separated the Shia from the Sunni and cut the throats of eighteen Shia men while their wives and children were made to watch. Now he (Greg) was praying like a Sunni at the heart of Shiite Pakistan. Among the warring sects of IslaM. Morenson knew, men had been killed for less”.
This had never happened. The story is totally false and based on ulterior motives of Greg Mortenson and his humanitarian work. The American readers should know, that in the 21st century, nothing is hide out of the eyes of the print and electronic media. The CBS TV, BBC, VOA and other International TV channels have their reliable reps in Islamabad, one can ask and verify this story. It is biased, dishonest and totally false story. Greg Mortenson want to divide and destroy the religious harmony of Baltistan and Gilgit, and injects poison among the new generation, for whom he claims to be the Hero.
Greg has put black paint on the faces of the Americans who will travel in the mountain in the future.
Ghulam Parvi – If that is who you really are..I find it strange that your comments appear 2 years after the book was published? What took so long!
Having searched for negative comments on Mr. Mortenson. Have sadly led me here. Since I find the usual conspiracy crowd, the goverment is watching me..blah..blah, Zionists stole my iPod. You can judge a man by the enemies he has! Greg Mortenson is starting to look like a (Saint, Tzadik..Holy man take your pick)
-Please provide some evidence that you are not sock puppet. (Video, Correspondence with Mr. Mortenson) –
Either case I am suitably impressed with what I read, even if 50% of what was in the book was true. As I was moved by this book.
Why would Pakistan give its highest award..to him if what you say is true? I think someone would do a little fact finding..phantom schools?
Searchengineman
I dunno, why do rabid supporters of a book keep commenting two years after a criticism of the writing style of the author was published?
Are Mortensens Fan Club that insecure about their idol?
Why do so many start off their condemnation of any criticism of The Gospel According To Greg with “How DARE you…”?
Isn’t the notion of freedom of speech even in the face of Religious Intolerance supposedly one of the themes of the Holy Book of Teacups?
I mean, I like books. For instance, I loved tho book “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Phillip K. Dick.
It hurt my feelings that the book was re-written as an Action Thriller sci-fie movie. And Re-Named.
Have you any records of ME going to any forum for fans of the movie and telling them how shitty the movie was and that they should learn to think more deeply than “Oh, wow, man! She just blew his freakin’ head clean off the top of his neck! Kewl-ios!”
???
It’s A Book.WORDS WRITTEN ON PAPER (with a little side helping of getting teachers and preachers around the world to get their kids to read the book, worship Mortensen like the True Son Of God and send money to him)
I’ll make a good deal with the Mortensen Zombie Cult…
You quit insisting that the whole world worship your Greg and I’ll refrain from demanding that you worship my Di..
no, I won’t go there. Not this time…
Ghulam Parvi? Really? I doubt it. I am in agreement with searchengineman about a couple of things. First off, if you are really going to tell us that specific sections of the book (or all by your words) are false, then you need to provide justification, insider sources, that say they are false. Otherwise what you have is called an uninformed opinion because you have no support for your claim. Secondly, on March 23, 2009, Greg Mortenson was awarded the Sitara-i-Pakistan (Star of Pakistan) which is one of Pakistan’s highest civil awards.
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/PersonOfWeek/story?id=7188954&page=2
http://www.suite101.com/blog/greenturtle/ushumanitarian_greg_mortenson_receives_pakistans_highest_civic_award
He received the award from Pakistan’s President Asaf Ali Zardari in a ceremony in Islamabad. If they believed as you do, they wouldn’t have given him that honor.
You know, word gets around, that people who criticize the book or its premise will get lots and lots of Slam. Which is not the same as Spam.
I’m sorry for you, Cassie, that you must live your entire life defending a book.
As for somebody giving or receiving a medal, George Bush is going to accept a medal here in Colorado Springs in April, “The Lion’s Heart Award” for being a Brave Crusader.
Even though he’s a chickenshit chickenhawk who pays other people, using stolen money, to Kill Babies for him.
Does a medal being given him proclaiming him a “Hero” make him less of a Craven Coward? Proclaiming him a Christian even though he has people murdered through the blasphemous misuse of the name of Christ, make him any less a foul blasphemer?
No, it does not. The President of Pakistan just allowed another Cowardly Murderer to leave the country, a minion of the Bush Empire.
Cassie, the question becomes, why should I or anybody give a good God-Damn about what the Puppet Dictator of Pakistan decides to honor with a piece of shit medal?
Again, it’s too bad you and your friends have chosen to spend so much time trying to destroy or at least shout down anybody who criticizes your stupid book. You’re less a Fan Club and more like a Fanatic Psycho Cult. 49 comments on a book criticism dated more than three years ago.
Yet, many of you have denied there’s any collusion on their parts.
Or that the TCOT Fanatics actively hunt down any criticism of their Lord Greg.
You just can’t let it go, can’t accept the notion that some people don’t worship Greg Mortensen as though he were the New Incarnation of Christ. That’s freakish.
I’m neither a psychiatrist nor an exorcist so I really can’t help you.
I address you by name, but really, the comments I make are more to balance out the hatred displayed against any critics of The Lord Greg.
And so people who are a little more balanced and rational might have something good to read.
Thank me very much.
You’re welcome.