Hot off the Presses! The newly released book by Greg Mortensen, Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan continues on where his first book, Three Cups of Tea, left off. Join our group in reading and discussing this fascinating account of one man’s mission in seeking peace and justice through education. A limited number of copies are available at the church, or you can purchase one (best price around) on Amazon.com.
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Timothy Wood said,
February 20, 2010 at 11:22 pm
This is my first, but not last, post after reading Greg Mortenson’s book “Stones into Schools.” As a male, I have to admit that I have some reservationsabout his concentration on educating females. I can easily accept his 60/40 stated division between between males and females, but his real concentration seems to be strictly on educating females – and, yes, I know that there are some instances where he seems distraught about a male, here and there, who was not able to attend his schools because of being killed by a land mine. But, I ask myself, who is causing all the violence, all the wars, all the killing. Certainly not females. They, seem, to have a “built-in” peace incentive. Not so for men. Especially young men. That is not to say there are no female revolutionaries – there certainly are and they seem to be even more dedicated to the “cause” than the men are. But, that is my point.
There are so many more males that are led astray by propaganda and “hate” incentives, simply because the propaganda and hate incentives are directed toward them. Then, would it not make much more sense to educate males along the lines of what they have to be aware of, than to educate females about how to “be good females?”
I certainly do not pretend to understand the Islamic psyche. I do, indeed, understand that it is different from the “western world” psyche. As Mortenson seems to say, all the Islamic leaders of Pakistan and Afganistan are devoted to educating the females of their populace. This is something I can not believe. The Islamic world is predicated on the dominance of the male as are most societies). I definitely agree that females, given the opportunity, compete with, if not superior to males, in most intellectual persuits, but the concentration of Mortenson and his two closely aligned followers, Sarfraz and Wahil (I believe), are concentrating on teaching females on how to be good Islamic wives and daughters, rather than the more forward thinking goal of teaching them to teach other (male and female) to be more responsible Afgani/Pakistani citizens within their Islamic religion.
Please do not misunderstand me. I think Mortensens goal, if, indeed, it can be called that, is many times better than no goal at all. But to concentrate on teaching females, without teaching males (which I readily admit they do, after a fashion by demanding that only 40% of their school attendes be female) the arts of peace and social responsibility, fall short of a totally comprehensive effort. The belief that teaching femailes the arts of peace (if that is, indeed, what they are doing, is only half the battle. THe minions of war are alway male, unfortunately for my gender. The minions of peace are almost always female, but with little influence over a dedicated male. I wonder, therfore, if his efforts are not misdirected as far as gender goes, though I have absolutely no problem with educating females in the hope that they will have the ultimate influence over their offspring.
Tim
Lenore said,
February 21, 2010 at 1:14 am
Tim,
I agree that there is a need to educate both male and female alike. I applaud Greg for his fighting against the typical cultural norm that prevents young ladies from being educated outside of the home. For so long, strict Islamic rule throughout the Middle East and beyond has prevented girls from being seen in public (both literally and figuratively) and certainly from receiving an education. To educate a woman is to educate a family, though.
As for the idea of educating the young men, I agree that it is crucial to prevent the ongoing violence that has been happening in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The boys have been educated by the Isalamic schools which are often overseen by the extremist leadership in these countries. They are taught reading, writing, arithmetic and doing away with the infidels. The schools like Mortensen is organizing have the potential to change the world.
Timothy Wood said,
February 23, 2010 at 12:32 am
Lenore,
I wrote one lengthy reply, but must have hit an incorrect button and canceled the entire thing. But, undaunted, I will pursue the same course again. If this one gets deleted, I will consider it an “act of God” and pursue it no further.
First, I totally believe that education in “truth” (whatever that may be – as it changes from decade to decade) is the most noble pursuit, after Godliness, that humanity can pursue. Of course, the “basics” are no longer r/w/a, and their derivitives, as they were before I was born, but now delve into, engineering, philosophy, metaphysics, religion, and many things I know nothing of…religion – that much defined, redefined, and fought over discipline.
I am certainly no protagonist for Islam. But it seems the basic Islamic faith does not want the beauty of its women to be “observed” in public, much less to allow them to deal directly with males – there is a definite reason for that if you stop to think about it.
All of Mortensens “Islamic” towns/villages were more than anxious to build schools to “educate” their females, so the next to last sentence in your reply is just not true unless you are accusing the elders of the villages of being duplicitious in their desires to build schools. Remember that they all signed contracts to ensure that at least 40% of the students in the Mortensen schools would be “female”. Of course, they did not sign contracts stating what they would teach the females and, I am sure, the females, being somewhat new to education, had no idea what they were supposed to be “taught”. All I am saying is that it all sounds better than reality. Yes, Mortensen (well, not really him but people like Sarfraz and Wahil, the so-called dirty dozen, and all the female volunteers of the CAI, and all the benefactors), did great things and, to some extent, achieved some great results.
Consider that in not a single jirga, with tribal elders, was there a female present, even though they all proclaimed that the education of the female was a great thing. Consider how many charitable and noble efforts have been received by “tribal elders” who swore to uphold the “contracts” and managed to completely subvert the intentions of the benefactors after they were gone and the “elders” had gotten all they could from them. A school is a great social prestiege item in many parts of the world (and rightly so). But their direction generally goes the way of the local culture after the benefactors have left.
I greatly admire the efforts of CAI. Especially the “higher” education given to the best female students (I have had two excellent, outstanding female Afghani and Pakistani doctors who I am sure made it through the CAI schools, but they are here, in California now, not in Afghanistan or Pakistan because in those cultures the culture does not allow them to teach or treat other than females without committing grave sins against God and Mohammed. That is their culture. That is one of the ways they worship the very same God we, as Christians, worship.
Your contention that educating the woman educates the family may well be true – it has been such in this country and our religion, to some degree (although most early teachers here were male). But to educate a female beyoud r/w/a in a strongly islamic country beyond educating her to be a good Islamic wife is to relegate her to leaving the country to find an outlet for her hard-won skills. Even Mortensen admits that. California has many Afghani and Pakistani refugees that have left their country so they could pursue their talents learned through CAI, and other, education.
So, my only contention is that we must educate, or re-educate those whose predudices hold back the populace (as we did in our own South) before the countries, wholly, can move forward. In all cases I can think of it is the male who leads the countries. In Alabama, it took the acceptance of the black man by white males as an equal before the black man was able to progress. Now, many blacks I talk with have indicated their best opportunities lay in the South, not the North, where they are still most discriminated against because of color and culture.
I know of no educated black woman who has influenced a black pimp, or dope peddler, to leave the streets and get an education. Our job is great. Immediate returns are always small when the stakes are high. As lovers of God, justice, and of all of God’s creations, we need to temper our efforts accross the broad spectrum of God’s creations in order to serve him in a credible fashion.
I have expressed my deepest beliefs to you before, and I do not think a single word of this “epistle” deviates from my God-given beliefs.
I only wish that I, like Mortensen, Sarfraz and Wahil, and so many, Him in such a way that would please Him.
Tim
Pat Confer said,
February 22, 2010 at 11:13 pm
Finished the book. Over the past two months I have been immersed in building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan–Three Cups of Tea and then this one. Whew!!! A great story, a great accomplishment. I liked this man the most when he was revealing himself the most (and no, I’m not referring to his not wearing underwear.) First his sadness when he had to spend so much time being a fund raiser in the United States and could not be where his heart was. Second, at the end when he feels “left out” when the most remote of all the schools is built without his being there. Very human and endearing. Also at the end he does celebrate that the local people finished that remote school pretty much on their own—”by God’s grace.” Hope Greg Mortenson realizes that all that was achieved was by God’s grace.
Timothy Wood said,
February 23, 2010 at 12:54 am
Pat, thank you for your observations that, though I did not read Three Cups of Tea, that also left me somewhat “breathless” whith all the activity that I can hardly imagine the difficulty of. In our world we order something over the internet and it is delivered with days, with no yaks caravans, rented vans, or mountain chains to delay or hinder its delivery. We also get to order our “building stones”, not sculpt them from surrounding boulders. What a heartwarming comparison, Mortensen makes, when he compares the whole process of school raising to an Amish “barn raising”. It seems to be all about people who love one-another helping one-another. It is refreshing to know that Islam, without the radicals, fosters tha same love of all of God’s creations as Christianity does. It reenforces the reality that we are all connected and the actions of one affects all the others in a good, or bad, way.
Thank you for your refresing observations.
Tim
Carol said,
February 23, 2010 at 11:19 pm
I found the building of schools and the way the education was done to be really amazing. To think of children so hungry to learn and adults so eager to have schools for them. I like the fact that they are actually having the locals involved in all phases of the building and education and that in the end the school he most wanted was done by the people themselves.
I also was struck by another lesson in this book – sit down with others – listen – show respect – share ideas – work together. Sometimes I think we forget to do these things and it causes all us pain.
Carol