Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin - Essay Example

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin 1. The Balti people are fierce, yet extremely hospitable, kind yet rigid, determined to better themselves, yet stuck in the past The novel Three Cups of Tea offers a creative nonfiction account of a mountaineer who ion 1993 happened to stumble off Himalayas Peak K2. He takes a risky and life-threatening path, stumbles into a village far from his intended destination. This acts as a life-changing era both for the mountaineer as wee as to the villagers who happened to save the life of Mortenson (Mortenson and Roth 6). During his exploration of the village in Pakistan, Mortenson is filled with a lot of empathy as he observe village girls drawn from Balti conducting learning under open air since they have no either a teacher nor a structure. He promises to come back and build a school for the girls (Mortenson 8). The novel reports that villagers and girls are not opposed to seeing their daughters getting better education. This is because they understand that the key to bringing a positive change to the Muslim religion. This is the reason why they are receptive to Mortenson’s idea of building schools for the Muslim girls. For instance, girls like Tahira, Shakeela and Jahan who might have played very little role in their village were it that they had no education, soon became triggers for change in their villages after attending CAI school built for them by Mortensosn (Mortenson and Relin 16). In the end, these girls ended up improving the quality of health care, educate women and changes the attitudes women. We get to understand that educated girls, unlike the boys who tend to migrate to the city to look for jobs, remain in the villages, thus share the rewards of their education with people around them. Mortenson also understand that the best way to turn these Muslim people from the terrorist act is through education. However, a certain conservative declare Fatwa to frustrate Mortenson’s efforts, with the aim of preventing building schools in the region (Mortenson and Relin 18). The novel reveals that all of Mortenson’s village protagonists are Muslims. However, they lack the authority to arbitrate directly on Mortenson’s behalf. Instead, they opt to petition the “supreme leader” of the Shia based in northern Pakistan, who immediately declares fatwa inconsistent with Islam. He also offers full support to Mortenson’s project. The conservative leader in this case is a representation of those who still leave in the past. These are male chauvinist who does not see any good in women or girls for that matter. For instance, they see that in case a girl gets educated, this will empower them challenge the men in the society. They are entangled or traditions and have no vision for the future of the country. This explains why many women under Islamic religion were in the past denied certain rights in the name of religion. In fact, villages were voiceless and had no authority to challenge what tradition states. This is why despite the fact that the villager’s were in support of Mortenson’s project of building schools to enhance girl child education; they could not petition the leader directly. Instead, they had to do this through the Muslim supreme leader. Moreover, change from tradition is also manifested through the Muslim supreme leader. In this case, he stood on his ground and declares that fatwa that is alleged by the opponents of Mortenson’s project is inconsistent with Islam (Salter 17). In this case, he provided support against all odds. In most cases, one would have expected the supreme leader to defend fatwa, but this is not the case. This teaches people out side there that Islam is not opposed to a girls child education. Instead, it is just some clicks of people in the society that still believes on the past. The supreme leaders view in my opinion is a true reflection of courage and leadership. It also portrays Islamic teachings in a positive way. In fact, this has seen many Pakistan girls nowadays get higher education as opposed to before. Therefore, they are a representation of change in Islamic religion. 2. It is a mater of fact that many people around the world especially United States has formed rigid views of Islam and Muslim religion after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the New York’s World Trade Center. The reason being that this tragic incident happened to have been masterminded by a Muslim faithful called Osama bin Laden (Mortenson and Relin 16). This revelation came to light immediately Osama acknowledge being responsible for the bombing with the help of his terrorist group al Qaida. The gravity of the matter became even stronger after Osama called upon other Muslim faithful to unit in the war against United Sates. This prompted many people to have a negative perception about Islam and Muslim faithful. In most case, Muslims were being branded as terrorist and people who have no respect for human rights. I also held several negative views about Islam and Muslim prior to reading these books. In fact, after the September 11 incidence, I would perceive any Muslim I come a cross as a terrorist. This is mainly because I considered them as suicide bombers and would not have liked to associate with them. This is because the closer I befriend one, the negative the society particularly the Christians would look at the individual. In most cases, the society would consider the individual as a convert who may want also to pursue the mission of becoming a suicide bomber. The other views I held concerning Muslims is that they are conservative and, therefore, do not like change. The worst of it is that I considered them people who have no respect for human right. This is because, according to the Christian teaching it is against the Ten Commandments to kill someone. However, in Islam, hardly a day could pass before one hears or watch through channels like CNN where a Muslim suicide bomber has killed many people. However, these views suddenly changed after reading the Three Cups of Tea. For instance, contrary to the opinion that I held before that all Muslims are terrorists have totally changed. This is because; the issue at hand that brings about terrorism is misunderstanding and ignorance. Just as, Haji Ali teaches Mortenson he tells him that if he wants the corporation of Barti people, then it is important to respect their ways (Salter 17). This is the same of the case regarding the issue of terrorism. That is, in case America can create a mutual understanding and respect between itself and Muslim, them the question of terrorism may become a thing of the past. This shows that all Muslims are not terrorists, but they engage in the act as a matter of fighting what they consider an enemy, as their main targets are Americans. My view regard human right violation has also changed after reading this people. I have come to understand that not all Islamic and Muslim faithful are violators of human rights. It is only a click of people who still lives in the past that still deny girls the opportunity of study in the name of Fatwa. This was evident when one of the clerics opposed the Mortenson’s project of building schools to promote girl child education. However, through the reaction of the villagers and the supreme leader, one can certainly realize that Muslims are people who obey human rights just like other religions. This is seen through their support of building schools in the villages. Through the villagers, I have also realized that Muslims are very receptive, hospitable and peaceful people being stuck in the past. The statement made by cleric Syed Abbas when he encouraged America to “look into their hearts and see that the great majority of us are not terrorist, but good and simple” (Ali 542), coveys a strong message. Firstly it signifies that a majority of Muslim as peace loving and are not terrorists. Therefore, it is not in order to brand all Muslims as terrorists merely because one of them like Osama happened to be a terrorist. As a result, no one should be judged as a terrorist based on his religion. This statement is reinforced when Bashir roared that Osama is just a creation of America and not Pakistan or Afghanistan as is alleged (Ali 541). In conclusion, this book has inspired me a lot to learn more about Islam. This is because it has opened my eyes to an extent that I no longer see Islam as terrorist or human right violators but as peace loving and receptive people who strive towards development. The book has, in addition, taught me the value of being a peace loving citizen and why understanding and respect is the importance in maintenance of peace. Work cited Ali, Nosheen. Books vs Bombs? Humanitarian development and the narrative of terror in Northern Pakistan: Relocating culture in Development and Development in Culture. Volume 31, Issue 4, 28 june 2010. Pp. 514-559. Mortenson, Geg. Three Cups of Tea. New York: Penguin Books Limited. 2010 Print. Mortenson, Greg & Roth Susan L. Listen to the Wind: the story of Greg and Three cups of tea. Massachusetts: Dial Books for Young Readers. 2009 print. Mortenson, Greg & Relin, David O. 3 Cups of Tea. New York: Puffin Books. 2009 Print. Salter, Cathy. Why is Afghanistan important? The Geography Teacher. Ashland, Missouri. 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