Terrorism doesn’t just happen because a group of people decide to hate us

Greg Mortenson, co-founder and Executive Director of the Central Asia Institute, c0-author of Three Cups of Tea, committed education advocate and builder of schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan:

I’ve learned that terror doesn’t happen because some group of people somewhere like Pakistan or Afghanistan simply decide to hate us. It happens because children aren’t being offered a bright enough future that they have a reason to choose life over death.

Three Cups of Tea, 292.

Everybody needs to read this book. It’ll help you understand a little more of the complexity of the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan, of the amazing work that people like Greg are already doing there, and the need for more people of peace and conviction to put their shoulders to the wheels of change.

One Comment

  1. This is an intersting topic, and although Greg Mortenson brings a unique (and unparraleled) experience to bear on the issue, the existing data doesn’t indicate a causal link between “lack of opportunities” and terrorism. Indeed, according to a study conducted by Krueger and Maleckoa, that the average education level of terrorists is actually quite high compared to the average citizen.

    I realize that Mortenson could also be talking about opportunities in a more macro sense; that is, while education isn’t a factor, having access to a future through plausible employment opportunities in certain areas could breed discouragement (nihilism) and terrorism. Even with that caveat, however, that wouldn’t explain terrorism in wide swaths where they are present.

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