Greg Mortenson is an American professional speaker, writer, veteran, and former mountaineer. He is a co-founder and former executive director of the non-profit Central Asia Institute and the founder of the educational charity Pennies for Peace .
132-649: Mortenson is the co-author of The New York Times Bestseller Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan . Mortenson was accused of financial irregularities in handling donations to the CAI and falsehoods in his books. In 2012, Mortenson repaid $ 1 million to the CAI after an inquiry by the Montana Attorney General . The inquiry determined that he had improperly used over $ 6 million of
264-577: A 1915 article by the prominent Dutch orientalist C. Snouck Hurgronje , titled Heilige Oorlog [Holy War] Made in Germany . In it Hurgronje denounced his German colleagues, who he felt instigated the jihad proclamation in an irresponsible appeal to an antiquated concept that threatened the project of modernizing the Muslim world. The article was widely circulated in an English translation and its accuracy continues to be debated by historians, who acknowledge both
396-405: A 2003 firefight between Afghan opium warlords, his subjection to two fatwās by conservative Islamist clerics for educating girls , and his receiving hate mail and threats from fellow Americans for helping educate Muslim children. According to op-ed columnist and Mortenson friend Nicholas D. Kristof , the schools built by CAI have local support and have been able to avoid retribution by
528-510: A 50% decrease in price for books on the Best Seller List to beat its competition, Barnes & Noble . After a legal dispute between Amazon and The New York Times , Amazon was permitted to keep using the list on condition that it displayed it in alphabetical rather than numerical order. By 2010, this was no longer the case; Amazon now displays the best-seller list in order of best-selling titles first. In 2013, Forbes published
660-481: A bachelor's degree in liberal studies and an associate degree in nursing. Mortenson describes the origins of his humanitarian work in his best-selling book Three Cups of Tea . He states he traveled to northern Pakistan in 1993 to climb the world's second-highest mountain, K2 , as a memorial to his sister, Christa. After more than 70 days on the mountain, located in the Karakoram range, Mortenson failed to reach
792-543: A book Krakauer described as "riddled with lies". In April 2011, 60 Minutes and author Jon Krakauer accused Mortenson of fabrication in his non-fiction books and of financial improprieties at his charity Central Asia Institute . After a one-year investigation, Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock reached a settlement with Mortenson in which he agreed not to file criminal charges but sought restitution for book royalties, speaking and travel fees, promotional costs, and inappropriate personal bills that Mortenson charged to
924-472: A certain matter, or they may employ legalistic stratagems ( hiyal ) to circumvent a stricter interpretation, while such strategies may not be acceptable from the standpoint of taqwa . The basic prerequisite for issuing fatwas under the classical legal theory was religious knowledge and piety. According to the adab al-mufti manuals, a mufti must be an adult, Muslim, trusted and reliable, of good character and sound mind, an alert and rigorous thinker, trained as
1056-451: A chief mufti of the empire called shaykh al-islam at the top. The Ottoman shaykh al-Islam (Turk. şeyhülislam ), was among the most powerful state officials. Scribes reviewed queries directed to Ottoman muftis and rewrote them to facilitate issuing of fatwas. In Mughal India and Safavid Iran the chief mufti had the title of sadr . For the first few centuries of Islam, muftis were educated in informal study circles, but beginning in
1188-560: A different path in Iran starting from the early modern era. During Safavid rule, independent Islamic jurists ( mujtahids ) claimed the authority to represent the hidden imam . Under the Usuli doctrine that prevailed among Twelver Shias in the 18th century and under the Qajar dynasty , the mujtahids further claimed to act collectively as deputies of the imam. According to this doctrine, every Muslim
1320-571: A fatwa in Western press, this characterization was widely accepted by both its critics and its supporters, and the Rushdie Affair is credited with bringing the institution of fatwa to world attention. Together with later militant fatwas, it has contributed to the popular misconception of the fatwa as a religious death warrant. Many militant and reform movements in modern times have disseminated fatwas issued by individuals who do not possess
1452-524: A fatwa relating to a court judgment that has already been passed, acting as an informal appeals process, but the extent of this practice and its mechanism varied across history. While in most of the Islamic world judges were not required to consult muftis by any political authority, in Muslim Spain this practice was mandatory, so that a judicial decision was considered invalid without prior approval by
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#17327755755641584-422: A follow-up article for The Daily Beast in which he stated that an audit of CAI's overseas projects indicated that the charity was still "beset by widespread corruption" and that Mortenson remaining as the public face of the charity was not "in the best interest of the charity or the people it serves". He concluded that "anyone thinking about donating to CAI should probably reconsider". In January 2014, Mortenson
1716-475: A former board treasurer had left the organization because "Greg regards CAI as his personal ATM," routinely charged personal expenses to the organization, and rarely provided any receipts or documentation. In response to Krakauer's allegations, CAI produced a comprehensive 'Master Project List' on work CAI had completed or was then working on. The list was released in December 2011. In April 2013 Krakauer wrote
1848-482: A jurist, and not a sinner. On a practical level, the stature of muftis derived from their reputation for scholarly expertise and upright character. According to legal theory, it was up to each mufti to decide when he was ready to practice. In practice, an aspiring jurist would normally study for several years with one or several recognized scholars, following a curriculum that included Arabic grammar, hadith, law and other religious sciences. The teacher would decide when
1980-490: A lay person to do so, and advised the petitioner to trust their sense of the mufti's piety and ideally follow the advice of a single scholar known for exemplary morals. The mufti was often a well-known figure in his neighborhood. Some petitioners could choose among several local muftis, while others had to or chose to travel to receive a fatwa. Judges commonly sent letters to solicit fatwas from prominent jurists in another town or even country. Sunni legal theory generally permits
2112-428: A legal specialist. Author-jurists collected fatwas by muftis of high scholarly reputation and abstracted them into concise formulations of legal norms that could be used by judges, giving a summary of jurisprudence for a particular madhhab (legal school). Author-jurists sought out fatwas that reflected the social conditions of their time and place, often opting for later legal opinions which were at variance with
2244-546: A mufti with higher scholarly authority than themselves for difficult cases or potentially controversial verdicts. Fatwas were routinely upheld in courts, and if a fatwa was disregarded, it was usually because another fatwa supporting a different position was judged to be more convincing. If a party in a dispute was not able to obtain a fatwa supporting their position, they would be unlikely to pursue their case in court, opting for informal mediation instead, or abandoning their claim altogether. Sometimes muftis could be petitioned for
2376-487: A national vision of Islam through fatwas issued in response to government and private queries. National governments in Muslim-majority countries also instituted councils of senior religious scholars to advise the government on religious matters and issue fatwas. These councils generally form part of the ministry for religious affairs, rather than the justice department, which may have a more assertive attitude toward
2508-462: A number of occasions, the Quranic text instructs the Islamic prophet Muhammad how to respond to questions from his followers regarding religious and social practices. Several of these verses begin with the phrase "When they ask you concerning ..., say ..." In two cases (4:127, 4:176) this is expressed with verbal forms of the root f-t-y , which signify asking for or giving an authoritative answer. In
2640-493: A number of regulations about the standard format of a fatwa, such as avoiding blank space that could be used for a spurious addition and concluding the fatwa with an expression like allahu a'lam (God knows best). Nonetheless, fatwas took on a variety of forms depending on the local legal culture. The 14th century jurist Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyya was known for his methodology of issuing fatwas through direct research of
2772-680: A qualified Islamic jurist ( faqih ) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a mufti , and the act of issuing fatwas is called ifta' . Fatwas have played an important role throughout Islamic history, taking on new forms in the modern era. Resembling jus respondendi in Roman law and rabbinic responsa , privately issued fatwas historically served to inform Muslim populations about Islam, advise courts on difficult points of Islamic law, and elaborate substantive law. In later times, public and political fatwas were issued to take
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#17327755755642904-488: A senior book marketing executive who said the rankings were "smoke and mirrors"; while a report in Book History found that many professionals in the book industry "scoffed at the notion that the lists are accurate". Specific criticisms include: In 1983, author William Peter Blatty sued The New York Times for $ 6 million, claiming that his book, Legion (filmed as The Exorcist III ), had not been included in
3036-503: A shared cultural project. In some states, such as Muslim Spain, muftis were assigned to courts in advisory roles. In Muslim Spain jurists also sat on a shura (council) advising the ruler. Muftis were additionally appointed to other public functions, such as market inspectors . While the office of the mufti was gradually subsumed into the state bureaucracy in much of the Sunni Muslim world, Shia religious establishment followed
3168-465: A single day, devoting his night hours to writing a legal treatise. Those who were able to act in all four capacities were regarded as the most accomplished jurists. From the standpoint of morality and religious obligation, the term fatwa has been contrasted with taqwa (piety, fear of God), particularly in Sufi literature. Fatwas may allow a choice between lenient and strict interpretation of sharia on
3300-480: A stand on doctrinal controversies, legitimize government policies or articulate grievances of the population. During the era of mass European/Christian invasions , fatwas played a part in mobilizing resistance against foreign aggressors. Muftis acted as independent scholars in the classical legal system. Over the centuries, Sunni muftis were gradually incorporated into state bureaucracies, while Shia jurists in Iran asserted an autonomous authority starting from
3432-476: A story titled "Can bestseller lists be bought?" It describes how author and pastor Mark Driscoll contracted the company ResultSource to place his book Real Marriage (2012) on The New York Times Best Seller list for a $ 200,000 fee. The contract was for ResultSource "to conduct a bestseller campaign for your book, Real Marriage on the week of January 2, 2012. The bestseller campaign is intended to place Real Marriage on The New York Times bestseller list for
3564-415: A story titled "Here's How You Buy Your Way Onto The New York Times Bestsellers List." The article discusses how ResultSource , a San Diego–based marketing consultancy, specializes in ensuring books make a bestseller list, even guaranteeing a No. 1 spot for those willing to pay enough. The New York Times was informed of this practice and responded: " The New York Times comprehensively tracks and tabulates
3696-416: A well-known point of law in response to a question from a lay person, while a "major" fatwa may give a judgment on an unprecedented case, detailing the legal reasoning behind the decision. Queries to muftis were supposed to address real and not hypothetical situations and be formulated in general terms, leaving out names of places and people. Since a mufti was not supposed to inquire into the situation beyond
3828-458: A wide range of subjects. This trend continued in modern times, and contemporary state-appointed muftis and institutions for ifta respond to government and private queries on varied issues, including political conflicts, Islamic finance, and medical ethics, contributing to shaping a national Islamic identity. There exists no international Islamic authority to settle differences in interpretation of Islamic law. An International Islamic Fiqh Academy
3960-532: A year-long investigation by the Montana attorney general, Mortenson agreed to repay $ 1 million to the CAI. The Montana inquiry had found that he had misspent over $ 6 million of the organization's money, although no criminality was found. Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock said: "Mr Mortenson may not have intentionally deceived the board or his employees, but his disregard for and attitude about basic record-keeping and accounting for his activities essentially had
4092-517: Is a bad manager and accountant, and he is the first to admit that, but he is also a tireless humanitarian with a crucially important mission." Mortenson lives in Bozeman, Montana , with his wife, Tara Bishop (the daughter of Barry Bishop ), a clinical psychologist, and their two children, Amira and Khyber. In 2011, Mortenson was diagnosed with hypoxia and had surgery for an aneurysm and an atrial septal defect , an event which exactly coincided with
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4224-454: Is a compressed version of events that took place in the fall of 1993...." However, writing for Outside Online , Grayson Schaffer investigated Mortenson's claims regarding Korphe and found them likely spurious, as there was no plausible way for Mortenson to have ended up in Korphe while descending K2 in the route he claimed. Additionally, Schaffer concludes that there is no evidence that Mortenson
4356-399: Is commonly accomplished by application of various traditional legal doctrines such as the maqasid (objectives) of sharia, maslaha (public interest) and darura (necessity), in place of adhering to the letter of scriptural sources. The main argument for this approach is that Islamic law is meant to serve the interest of Muslims and make their lives easier ( taysīr ). This form of ijtihad
4488-524: Is editorial content, not objective factual content, so the Times had the legal right to exclude the book from the list. In 1995, Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema, the authors of a book called The Discipline of Market Leaders , colluded to manipulate their book onto the best seller charts. The authors allegedly purchased over 10,000 copies of their own book in small and strategically placed orders at bookstores whose sales are reported to BookScan . Because of
4620-468: Is not clear how common oral fatwas were, aside from those issued by an Ottoman office established specifically for the purpose of issuing oral fatwas. Many routine, written fatwas were delivered directly to the petitioner on the piece of paper containing the query, leaving no documentary trace. However, large collections of ordinary fatwas are preserved in Ottoman and Indian archives. Mufti manuals contained
4752-404: Is particularly prominent in fiqh al-aqallīyāt (minority jurisprudence), a recently developed branch of Islamic jurisprudence that aims to address the needs of Muslims living in countries with a non-Muslim majority. Its opponents object that sharia is supposed to determine the interests of Muslims, and not the other way around. On November 14, 1914, the Ottoman sultan proclaimed a jihad to mark
4884-471: Is published by GeekNation, an entertainment website based in Los Angeles. The book was originally written as a script, and was rewritten as a novel in an attempt to launch a film franchise. In August 2017, conservative publisher Regnery Publishing said it would no longer allow its writers to claim to be " New York Times best-selling authors" due to its belief that the Times favors liberal books on
5016-658: Is supposed to choose and follow a high-ranking living mujtahid bearing the title of marja' al-taqlid , whose fatwas are considered binding, unlike fatwas in Sunni Islam. Thus, in contrast to Sunni muftis, Shia mujtahids gradually achieved increasing independence from the state. While most fatwas were delivered to an individual or a judge, some fatwas that were public or political in nature played an important role in religious legitimation, doctrinal disputes, political criticism, or political mobilization. As muftis were progressively incorporated into government bureaucracies in
5148-593: Is the most important investment all countries can make to create stability, bring socio-economic reform, decrease infant mortality and population explosion, and improve health, hygiene, and sanitation standards. His view is that "fighting terrorism" perpetuates a cycle of violence whereas there should instead be a global priority to "promote peace" through education and literacy with an emphasis on educating girls. Three Cups of Tea describes his travels in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province , including his escape from
5280-450: The Qur'an and Hadith , rather than being restrained by the mechanism of the madhhabs (legal schools). Explaining Ibn Taymiyya's approach to issue fatwas , his student Al-Dhahabi writes: "He was well informed of the legal views of the [Prophet's] companions and their followers , and he rarely talked about a subject without quoting the four schools of the imams. Yet, he contradicted
5412-571: The Akhbari school of jurisprudence, which was predominant for a time during the early modern era, hold a different view on ifta from the currently predominant Usuli school. According to the Usulis, fatwas can be based on valid conjecture ( zann ) arrived through ijtihad , and every Muslim who is not qualified to be a mujtahid should become a follower ( muqallid ) of a mujtahid . In contrast, Akhbaris hold that all Shia Muslims must be muqallids of
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5544-482: The Iranian Parliament . Khomeini's most publicized fatwa was the proclamation condemning Salman Rushdie to death for his novel The Satanic Verses . Khomeini himself did not call this proclamation a fatwa, and some scholars have argued that it did not qualify as one, since in Islamic legal theory only a court can decide whether an accused is guilty. However, after the proclamation was presented as
5676-523: The Islamic community (a practice known as takfir ). In both political and scholarly sphere, doctrinal controversies between different states, denominations or centers of learning were accompanied by dueling fatwas. Muftis also acted to counteract the influence of judges and secular functionaries. By articulating grievances and legal rights of the population, public fatwas often prompted an otherwise unresponsive court system to provide redress. Early in
5808-515: The New York Times . The Times stated it was not counted because it was published by a Canadian company. According to Random House Canada , the book was handled properly for the U.S. market. American conservative commentator Dennis Prager wrote an article for National Review titled " The Times Best-Seller List: Another Reason Americans Don't Trust the Media" in which he contends that
5940-412: The Times argued that the list is not mathematically objective but rather an editorial product, an argument that prevailed in the courts. In 2017, a Times representative said that the goal is that the lists reflect authentic best sellers. The list has been a source of controversy. When the Times believes a book has reached the list in a suspicious way—such as through bulk purchases—the book's entry on
6072-526: The Twelve Imams , and that fatwas should reflect only knowledge that is certain ( qatʿ ) and based on the traditions of the Imams. Unlike the post of qadi , which is reserved for men in the classical sharia system, fatwas could be issued by qualified women as well as men. In practice, the vast majority of jurists who completed the lengthy curriculum in linguistic and religious sciences required to obtain
6204-446: The early modern era . In the modern era, fatwas have reflected changing economic, social and political circumstances, and addressed concerns arising in varied Muslim communities. The spread of codified state laws and Western-style legal education in the modern Muslim world has displaced muftis from their traditional role of clarifying and elaborating the laws applied in courts. Instead, modern fatwas have increasingly served to advise
6336-445: The hadith literature, this three-way relationship between God, Muhammad, and believers, is typically replaced by a two-way consultation, in which Muhammad replies directly to queries from his Companions ( sahaba ). According to Islamic doctrine, with Muhammad's death in 632, God ceased to communicate with mankind through revelation and prophets. At that point, the rapidly expanding Muslim community turned to Muhammad's Companions, as
6468-711: The "enemy" fighting against Muslims in the struggle over Palestine. Some muftis in the modern era, like the mufti of the Lebanese republic in the mid-20th century and the Grand Mufti of the Sultanate of Oman, were important political leaders. In Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini used proclamations and fatwas to introduce and legitimize a number of institutions, including the Council of the Islamic Revolution and
6600-527: The 100,000 new, hardcover print books published each year, fewer than 500 make it on to The New York Times Best Seller list (0.5 percent). Many novels (26 percent) appear on the list for only one week. To make the list, it is estimated that novels sell from 1,000 to 10,000 copies per week, depending on competition. Median sales fluctuate between 4,000 and 8,000 in fiction, and 2,000–6,000 in nonfiction. The majority of New York Times bestselling books sell from 10,000 to 100,000 copies in their first year. During
6732-419: The 11th and 12th centuries, the ruling elites began to establish institutions of higher religious learning known as madrasas in an effort to secure support and cooperation of the ulema (religious scholars). Madrasas, which were primarily devoted to the study of law, soon multiplied throughout the Islamic world, helping to spread Islamic learning beyond urban centers and to unite diverse Islamic communities in
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#17327755755646864-717: The 19th century, including in 1803 by Shah Abdul Aziz in India and in 1804 by Usman dan Fodio in West Africa. The unrealistic nature of these fatwas was soon recognized and in 1870 the ulama of northern India issued fatwas stating that Indian Muslims were not obliged to rebel or emigrate. A similar doctrinal controversy occurred in French-ruled Algeria. The fatwas solicited by the Algerian anti-colonial leader Abd al-Qadir differed in their technical detail, while
6996-627: The 20th century many muftis began to assert their independence from traditional schools of jurisprudence. The most notorious result of disregarding classical jurisprudence are the fatwas of militant extremists who have interpreted the Quran and hadith as supporting suicide bombings, indiscriminate killing of bystanders, and declaration of self-professed Muslims as unbelievers ( takfir ). New forms of ijtihad have also given rise to fatwas that support such notions as gender equality and banking interest, which are at variance with classical jurisprudence. This
7128-402: The 21st century, it has evolved into multiple lists, grouped by genre and format, including fiction and nonfiction, hardcover, paperback and electronic . The list is based on a proprietary method that uses sales figures, other data and internal guidelines that are unpublished—how the Times compiles the list is a trade secret . In 1983, during a legal case in which the Times was being sued,
7260-511: The 9th District Federal Circuit Court on October 10, 2013. On October 6, 2013, after a lengthy lawsuit filed by Central Asia Institute, Philadelphia Insurance Company was ordered by Magistrate Judge Jeremy Lynch to repay Central Asia Institute $ 1.2 million to pay for legal costs involved in the lawsuits and investigations. In May 2015, the Montana Attorney General stated that Central Asia Institute and Mortenson had completed
7392-566: The Advice How-to list." To achieve this, the contract stated that "RSI will be purchasing at least 11,000 total orders in one week." This took place, and the book successfully reached No.1 on the hardcover advice bestseller list on January 22, 2014. In July 2015, Ted Cruz 's book A Time For Truth was excluded from the list because the "overwhelming preponderance of evidence was that sales [of Cruz's book] were limited to strategic bulk purchases" to artificially increase sales and entry onto
7524-513: The Book Review itself, we don't know (the news surveys department's) precise methods." In 1992, the survey encompassed over 3,000 bookstores as well as "representative wholesalers with more than 28,000 other retail outlets, including variety stores and supermarkets." By 2004, the number was 4,000 bookstores as well as an unstated number of wholesalers. Data is adjusted to give more weight to independent book stores, which are underrepresented in
7656-404: The CAI. The reports stated, “Despite policies that committed him to do so, Mortenson failed to make contributions to CAI equal to the royalties he earned on the books the organization purchased. Nor did he and CAl devise an equitable way to split the costs to advertise and promote the book, which was required by his 2008 employment agreement. Mortenson also accepted travel fees from event sponsors at
7788-731: The February 13, 2011, issue, the first tracks combined print and e-book sales, the second tracks e-book sales only (both lists are further sub-divided into Fiction and Nonfiction). In addition a third new list was published on the web only, which tracks combined print sales (hardcover and paperback) in fiction and nonfiction. On December 16, 2012, the children's chapter books list was divided into two new lists: middle-grade (ages 8–12) and young adult (age 12–18), both which include sales across all platforms (hard, paper and e-book). According to an EPJ Data Science study that used big data to analyze every New York Times bestselling book from 2008 to 2016, of
7920-476: The French authorities obtained fatwas from local muftis, stating that Muslims living under the rule of unbelievers were not obligated to fight or emigrate as long as they were granted religious freedom by the authorities. On many other occasions, fatwas served as an effective tool for influencing the political process. For example, in 1904 a fatwa by Moroccan ulema achieved the dismissal of European experts hired by
8052-465: The German influence and the internal political calculations of the Ottoman government underlying the proclamation. Several boycott fatwas were issued in modern times, such as the one issued by Iraqi ulema in 1933, calling on Muslims to boycott Zionist products. In 2004 Yusuf al-Qaradawi issued a fatwa calling for boycott of Israeli and American products, arguing that buying these goods would strengthen
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#17327755755648184-581: The Moroccan government, while in 1907 another Moroccan fatwa succeeded in deposing the sultan on accusation that he failed to mount a defense against French aggression. The 1891 tobacco protest fatwa by the Iranian mujtahid Mirza Shirazi , which prohibited smoking as long as the British tobacco monopoly was in effect, also achieved its goals. Under European colonial rule, the institution of dar al-ifta
8316-514: The Taliban and other groups opposed to girls' education because of community "buy-in", which involves getting villages to donate land, subsidized or free labor (" sweat equity "), wood and resources. As of 2014, CAI reports it has established or significantly supported over 300 projects, including 191 schools, in rural and often volatile regions of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. After experiencing frustration in his efforts to raise money for
8448-686: The U.S. Army in Germany from 1975 to 1977 and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal . Following his discharge, he attended Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, from 1977 to 1979 on an athletic (football) scholarship. In 1978, Concordia College's football team won the NAIA Division III national championship with a 7–0 win over Findlay, Ohio . Mortenson graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1983 with
8580-516: The United States. The sales figures are widely believed to represent books that have actually been sold at retail, rather than wholesale, as the Times surveys booksellers in an attempt to better reflect what is purchased by individual buyers. Some books are flagged with a dagger indicating that a significant number of bulk orders had been received by retail bookstores. The New York Times reported in 2013 that "we [generally do not] track
8712-516: The United States. Travel expenses for his speaking engagements were paid for by the Central Asia Institute through the end of 2010. Mortenson personally kept the money received in exchange for his service as a public speaker as well as royalties from the sale of his book. In 2009, the total cost of his book promotion, fundraising, and awareness building for girls education paid for by CAI amounted to $ 4.6 million. In April 2012, after
8844-403: The airing of the 60 Minutes expose and the release of Krakauer's accompanying book. The New York Times Best Seller list This is an accepted version of this page The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. The New York Times Book Review has published the list weekly since October 12, 1931. In
8976-611: The benefits of making The New York Times Best Seller list (speaking engagements, more book deals, and consulting) the authors felt that buying their own work was an investment that would pay for itself. The book climbed to No. 4 on the list where it sat for 15 weeks; it also peaked at No. 1 on the BusinessWeek best seller list. Since such lists hold the power of cumulative advantage , chart success often begets more chart success. Although such efforts are not illegal, publishers consider them unethical. In 1999, Amazon.com announced
9108-464: The best-selling status of titles to market the books and not just as a measure of sales, thus placing increased emphasis on the New York Times list for book readers and book sellers. The list is compiled by the editors of the "News Surveys" department, not by The New York Times Book Review department, where it is published. It is based on weekly sales reports obtained from selected samples of independent and chain bookstores and wholesalers throughout
9240-435: The biggest benefit from being on the list, while perennial best-selling authors, such as John Grisham or Danielle Steel , see no benefit of additional sales. Fatw%C4%81 A fatwa ( UK : / ˈ f æ t w ɑː / ; US : / ˈ f ɑː t w ɑː / ; Arabic : فتوى , romanized : fatwā ; pl. فتاوى , fatāwā ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law ( sharia ) given by
9372-441: The classical theory of Islamic law . The legal theory of the fatwa was formulated in the classical texts of usul al-fiqh (principles of jurisprudence), while more practical guidelines for muftis were found in manuals called adab al-mufti or adab al-fatwa (etiquette of the mufti/fatwa). Fatwas are issued in response to a query. They can range from a simple yes/no answer to a book-length treatise. A short fatwa may state
9504-596: The course of Islamic history, they were often expected to support government policies. Ottoman sultans regularly sought fatwas from the chief mufti for administrative and military initiatives, including fatwas sanctioning jihad against Mamluk Egypt and Safavid Iran. Fatwas by the Ottoman chief mufti were also solicited by the rulers to lend religious legitimacy to new social and economic practices, such as financial and penal laws enacted outside of sharia, printing of nonreligious books (1727) and vaccination (1845). At other times muftis wielded their influence independently of
9636-530: The dirt. Mortenson has since admitted in a 2011 interview that the timing in the Korphe account in Three Cups of Tea is inaccurate, and that the events actually took place long after his descent from K2, over a longer period of time and during separate trips. Mortenson has written and spoken widely about the importance of education and literacy for girls worldwide. He has further stated that girls' education
9768-408: The doctrine of early authorities. Research by Wael Hallaq and Baber Johansen has shown that fatwa compilations could, and sometimes did, have a significant impact on the development of Islamic law. During the early centuries of Islam, the roles of mufti, author-jurist and judge were not mutually exclusive. A jurist could lead a teaching circle, conduct a fatwa session, and adjudicate court cases in
9900-663: The early 1940s, fourteen city-lists were included. A national list was created on April 9, 1942, in the Sunday New York Times Book Review as a supplement to the Monday edition regular city lists. The national list was ranked according to how many times the book appeared in the city lists. Eventually the city lists were eliminated, leaving only the national ranking list, which was compiled according to "reports from leading booksellers in 22 cities". Ranking by bookseller sales figures continues today, although
10032-453: The era of Western colonialism , several fatwas were issued drawing on the classical legal distinction between lands under Islamic rule ( dar al-Islam ) and lands of war ( dar al-harb ) or unbelief ( dar al-kufr ). These fatwas classified countries under European domination as lands of war or unbelief and invoked the legal theory obliging Muslims to wage war against the rulers of these lands or emigrate. A number of such fatwas were issued during
10164-563: The executive branch. While chief muftis of earlier times oversaw a hierarchy of muftis and judges applying traditional jurisprudence, most modern states have adopted European-influenced legal codes and no longer employ traditional judicial procedures or traditionally trained judges. State muftis generally promote a vision of Islam that is compatible with state law of their country. Although some early theorists argued that muftis should not respond to questions on certain subjects, such as theology, muftis have in practice handled queries relating to
10296-407: The following allegations: 60 Minutes asked Mortenson for an interview prior to their broadcast. Mortenson did not respond to their requests; however, he answered their questions in writing. Mortenson refused to talk to Steve Kroft, and reportedly the CAI staff requested that the hotel hosting the 60 Minutes crew asked them to leave the facility. Mortenson also canceled the speaking engagement that
10428-466: The following statement in response to the allegations against him that were published in the Bozeman Chronicle : "I stand by the information conveyed in my book, and by the value of CAI's work in empowering local communities to build and operate schools that have educated more than 60,000 students" and added, "The time about our final days on K2 and ongoing journey to Korphe village and Skardu
10560-653: The four schools in well-known matters about which he wrote and for which provided arguments from the Koran and the Sunna. He has compiled a work entitled Politics According to Divine Law for Establishing Order for Sovereign and Subjects and a book [called] Removing the Reproach from the Learned Imams .... For some years now he has not issued fatwas (legal opinions) according to a specific school, rather he bases these on
10692-506: The general public on other aspects of sharia, particularly questions regarding religious rituals and everyday life. Modern public fatwas have addressed and sometimes sparked controversies in the Muslim world, and some fatwas in recent decades have gained worldwide notoriety. The legal methodology of modern ifta often diverges from pre-modern practice, particularly so in the West. Emergence of modern media and universal education has transformed
10824-549: The idea that the New York Times doesn't like it?" The Post compared the list to best seller lists from Publishers Weekly looking for bias but could not find anything convincing. In February 2018, the Toronto Star published a story by books editor Deborah Dundas who found that the best-selling book 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson , who topped Publishers Weekly chart list, did not even chart on The New York Times bestsellers list, without reliable answers from
10956-400: The inconsistencies in the most recent reporting cycle, we decided that the sales for Handbook for Mortals did not meet our criteria for inclusion. We've issued an updated 'Young Adult Hardcover' list for September 3, 2017 which does not include that title." It was uncovered, by author Phil Stamper, that there had been unusual bulk ordering patterns which inflated the number of sales. The book
11088-581: The information included in the query, queries regarding contentious matters were often carefully constructed to elicit the desired response. A mufti's understanding of the query commonly depended on their familiarity with local customs and colloquialisms. In theory, if the query was unclear or not sufficiently detailed for a ruling, the mufti was supposed to state these caveats in their response. Fatwas were solicited by men and women from all social classes. A mufti could be an obscure scholar, who occasionally replied to queries from people in his neighborhood, or, at
11220-482: The interpretation of sharia on a wide range of questions essential to the society, ranging from ritual to finance. It was considered a requirement for qualified jurists to communicate their knowledge through teaching or issuing fatwas. The ideal mufti was conceived as an individual of scholarly accomplishments and exemplary morals, and muftis were generally approached with the respect and deference corresponding to these expectations. Judges generally sought an opinion from
11352-624: The issue with Peterson's book, as well his The Rational Bible: Exodus , is their conservative context and the lack of inclusion is the American mainstream media's manipulation. The Times denied any bias. In 2019, the release of Donald Trump Jr. 's book Triggered was shown to have only reached the best-seller list through approximately $ 100,000 in behind-the-scenes bulk purchases meant to pump up its sales numbers illegitimately. Vanity Fair reported in October 2020 that this sort of gaming of
11484-475: The knowledge and legal skill to perform this activity. In addition, it was felt that the major question of jurisprudence had already been addressed by master jurists of earlier times, so that later muftis only had to follow the legal opinions established within their legal school ( taqlid ). At that point, the notions of mufti and mujtahid became distinguished, and legal theorists classified jurists into three or more levels of competence. Among Twelver Shia ,
11616-525: The list due to either negligence or intentional falsehood, saying it should have been included due to high sales. The Times countered that the list was not mathematically objective but rather was an editorial product and thus protected under the Constitution as free speech. Blatty appealed it to the Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case. Thus, the lower court ruling stood that the list
11748-605: The list is marked with a dagger symbol (†). Although the first best seller list in America was published in 1895, in The Bookman , a best seller list was not published in The New York Times until October 12, 1931, 36 years later, with little fanfare. It listed five fiction and four nonfiction books for New York City only. The next month, the list was expanded to eight cities, each with its own list. By
11880-458: The list. In response, Cruz called the Times "a liar" and demanded an apology. The Times said it stood by its statement and evidence of manipulation. In August 2017, a young adult fiction book, Handbook for Mortals by previously unpublished author Lani Sarem was removed from the list, where it was in initially in the No. 1 spot. According to a statement issued by the Times , "after investigating
12012-416: The list. The Times responded that the political views of authors have no bearing on the list and noted conservative authors routinely rank highly on the list. The Associated Press noted the Times is a frequent target of conservatives and Republicans. The Washington Post called Regnery's ban a "stunt" designed to increase sales, "What better way to sell a book to a conservative audience than to promote
12144-489: The methodology on his blog; he posted: "If I could obtain bulk orders before Leapfrogging was released, ResultSource would purchase the books on my behalf using their tried-and-true formula. Three thousand books sold would get me on The Wall Street Journal bestseller list. Eleven thousand would secure a spot on the biggest prize of them all, The New York Times list." In 2014, the Los Angeles Times published
12276-450: The most authoritative voices among them, for religious guidance, and some of them are reported to have issued pronouncements on a wide range of subjects. The generation of Companions was in turn replaced in that role by the generation of Successors ( tabi'un ). The concept of fatwa thus developed in Islamic communities under a question-and-answer format for communicating religious knowledge, and took on its definitive form with development of
12408-517: The most copies in one year followed by the biography Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson . The list has been criticized by authors, publishers, book industry executives, and others for not providing an accurate accounting of true best-seller status. These criticisms have been ongoing ever since the list originated. A book industry report in the 1940s found that best-seller lists were a poor indicator of sales, since they were based on misleading data and were only measuring fast sales. A 2004 report quoted
12540-532: The nonfiction lists for the two preceding weeks. In July 2000, the "Children's Best Sellers" was created after the Harry Potter series had stayed in the top spots on the fiction list for an extended period of time. The children's list was printed monthly until February 13, 2011, when it was changed to once an issue (weekly). In September 2007, the paperback fiction list was divided into "trade" and "mass-market" sections, in order to give more visibility to
12672-582: The official entry of the Ottoman Empire into World War I . The proclamation was supported by a fatwa issued by the Shaykh al-Islam. Contrary to the German hopes that the proclamation would trigger Muslim revolts in British and French colonies, it was either rejected or quietly ignored by their Muslim authorities. It also quickly gave rise to a heated academic debate in Europe. The controversy was sparked by
12804-753: The organization's funds; however, no criminal activity was discovered. Mortenson was born in St. Cloud, Minnesota . His parents, Irvin and Jerene, went with the Lutheran Church to Tanganyika (now Tanzania ) in 1958 to be teachers at a girls' school in the Usambara mountains. In 1961, Irvin became a fundraiser and development director for the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center, the first teaching hospital in Tanzania. Jerene
12936-405: The other extreme, a famous jurist or a powerful state official. The level of technical detail supplied in a fatwa, such as citations of sources or specification of legal methodologies employed, depended on the technical level of the petitioner. In theory, a petitioner was supposed to verify the mufti's scholarly reputation, but mufti manuals ( adab al-mufti ) recognized that it would be difficult for
13068-519: The period studied (August 6, 2008, to March 10, 2016), Dan Brown's book The Lost Symbol held the record with 3 million copies sold in one year followed by The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest by Stieg Larsson and Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee which sold 1.6 million copies each. In nonfiction, more than half of the hardcover books that make the list are in the biography category. The autobiography of George W. Bush, Decision Points , sold
13200-418: The petioner to obtain a fatwa from multiple jurists on the same query, provided that it addresses a real and not hypothetical situation. Some petitioners sought out a second fatwa because they were unsatisfied with the first, and the two sides in a legal dispute generally each sought to obtain a fatwa that would support their position. Muftis often consulted another mufti on difficult cases, though this practice
13332-417: The process has remained proprietary. By the 1950s, The Times ' s list had become the leading best-seller list for book professionals to monitor, along with that of Publishers Weekly . In the 1960s and 1970s, shopping-mall chain bookstores B. Dalton , Crown Books , and Waldenbooks came to the forefront with a business model of selling newly published best-sellers with mass-market appeal. They used
13464-519: The proof he has ascertained himself. He supported the pure Sunna and the way of Salafiyah ". The classical institution of fatwa is similar to jus respondendi in Roman law and the responsa in Jewish law . Fatwas have played three important roles in the classical legal system: Before the rise of modern education, the study of law was a centerpiece of advanced education in the Islamic world. A relatively small class of legal scholars controlled
13596-403: The public office of mufti began to appear alongside the private issuing of fatwas. In Khurasan , the rulers appointed a head of the local ulama, called shaykh al-Islam , who also functioned as the chief mufti. The Mamluks appointed four muftis, one for each of the four Sunni madhhabs, to appellate courts in provincial capitals. The Ottomans organized muftis into a hierarchical bureaucracy with
13728-458: The purchases of Mortenson's books into a trust to be used for humanitarian purposes. Several named plaintiffs dropped the lawsuit after confessing they had never read the books. The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice in federal court in May 2012. U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon chided the plaintiffs for presenting arguments that he called imprecise, flimsy, and speculative. An appeals suit was dropped by
13860-480: The qualification to issue fatwas were men. Slaves and persons who were blind or mute were likewise theoretically barred from the post of a judge, but not that of mufti. The mufti and the judge play different roles in the classical sharia system, with corresponding differences between a fatwa and a qada (court decision): Before the 11th century CE, anyone who possessed scholarly recognition as an Islamic jurist could issue fatwas. Starting around that time, however,
13992-461: The qualifications traditionally required of a mufti. A famous example is the fatwa issued in 1998 by Osama bin Laden and four of his associates, proclaiming "jihad against Jews and Crusaders" and calling for killing of American civilians. In addition to denouncing its content, many Islamic jurists stressed that bin Laden was not qualified to either issue a fatwa or declare a jihad. The Amman Message
14124-629: The repayments to CAI, fulfilling the terms of the 2012 settlement with Bullock. On the April 17, 2011, broadcast of CBS News ' 60 Minutes , correspondent Steve Kroft alleged inaccuracies in Mortenson's books Three Cups of Tea and its sequel Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan as well as financial improprieties in the operation of the Central Asia Institute . 60 Minutes made
14256-456: The ruler, and several sultans in Morocco and the Ottoman Empire were dethroned as a result of fatwas issued by influential jurists. This happened, for example, to the Ottoman sultan Murad V on the grounds of his insanity. Public fatwas were also used to dispute doctrinal matters, and in some case to proclaim that certain groups or individuals who professed to be Muslim were to be excluded from
14388-411: The sales of classic literature," and thus, for example, new translations of Dante's Inferno would not be found on the bestseller list. The exact method for compiling the data obtained from the booksellers is classified as a trade secret . Book Review staff editor Gregory Cowles explained the method "is a secret both to protect our product and to make sure people can't try to rig the system. Even in
14520-416: The same effect." Bullock also wrote in the report that "CAI's mission is worthwhile and important," and "[i]ts accomplishments, driven by the vision and dedication of Mortenson, are significant—as even their harshest critics acknowledge." Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Mortenson was required to resign as executive director and could no longer serve as a voting member of CAI's board. However, he
14652-520: The same root. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a mufti . The person who asks for a fatwa is known as mustafti . The act of issuing fatwas is called iftāʾ . The term futyā refers to soliciting and issuing fatwas. In older English language works the spelling fetva , from Turkish, is used, relating to the Ottoman Empire . The origins of the fatwa can be traced back to the Quran . On
14784-436: The same time that CAI was paying his travel costs. Moreover, he had significant lapses in judgment resulting in money donated to CAI being spent on personal items such as charter flights for family vacations, clothing and internet downloads.” Under the terms of a settlement with Bullock, Mortenson agreed to reinstate $ 1 million to the charity, which included credits for repayments already made. In October 2013, Mortenson completed
14916-493: The sample. The lists are divided among fiction and nonfiction , print and e-book, paperback and hardcover; each list contains 15 to 20 titles. The lists have been subdivided several times. "Advice, How-To, and Miscellaneous" debuted as a list of five on January 1, 1984. It was created because advice best-sellers were sometimes crowding the general nonfiction list. Its inaugural number one bestseller, The Body Principal by Victoria Principal , had been number 10 and number 12 on
15048-667: The school, Mortenson persuaded Silicon Valley computer pioneer Jean Hoerni to fund the building of the Korphe school. Hoerni, who was critically ill at the time, formed the Central Asia Institute so that he and others could make tax-exempt donations to support Mortenson's work, and Mortenson became its first executive director. The mission of the non-profit organization is to promote education and literacy, especially for girls, in remote mountain regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan . From 2006 through 2011, Greg Mortenson promoted his book as well as fundraising and promoting girls' education through public speaking events at schools throughout
15180-407: The small village of Korphe . Physically exhausted, ill, and alone at the time of his arrival there, Mortenson was cared for by some of Korphe's residents while he recovered. As a gesture of gratitude to the community for their assistance to him, Mortenson said he would build a school for the village after he noticed local students attending school in an outdoor location and writing out their lessons in
15312-512: The student was ready to issue fatwas by giving him a certificate ( ijaza ). During the first centuries of Islam, it was assumed that a mufti was a mujtahid , i.e., a jurist who is capable of deriving legal rulings directly from the scriptural sources through independent reasoning ( ijtihad ), evaluating the reliability of hadith and applying or even developing the appropriate legal methodologies. Starting from around 1200 CE, legal theorists began to accept that muftis of their time may not possess
15444-422: The summit. Earlier, Mortenson and fellow climber Scott Darsney were also involved in a 75-hour life-saving rescue of another climber, Etienne Fine, which put them in a weakened state. After the rescue, he descended the mountain and set out with a local Balti porter, Mouzafer Ali, to the nearest city. According to the account in Three Cups of Tea , Mortenson stated he took a wrong turn on the trail and ended up in
15576-423: The system has been a common practice among American conservative political figures, and has also included the use of political campaign funds to purchase the books in bulk in order to boost their rank on the list. A Stanford Business School analysis suggests that the "majority of book buyers seem to use the Times ' list as a signal of what's worth reading". The study concluded that lesser-known writers get
15708-647: The terms of a three-year compliance monitoring period, and CAI stated that the IRS had completed its examination of the nonprofit. The organization reported that it was having a return of donors and rise in contributions. Jennifer Jordan and Jeff Rhoads refuted the claims against Mortenson in their 2016 documentary 3000 Cups of Tea . In the film and through interviews Jordan argued that the accusations against Mortenson put forward by 60 Minutes and Jon Krakauer were largely not true and that both failed to do adequate research and source verification. Jordan said in 2014: "Yes, Greg
15840-416: The trade paperbacks that were more often reviewed by the newspaper itself. In November 2010, The New York Times announced it would be tracking e-book best-seller lists in fiction and nonfiction starting in early 2011. "RoyaltyShare, a San Diego–based company that tracks data and aggregates sales information for publishers, will ... provide [e-book] data". The two new e-book lists were first published with
15972-517: The traditional institution of ifta in various ways. While the proliferation of contemporary fatwas attests to the importance of Islamic authenticity to many Muslims, little research has been done to determine how much these fatwas affect the beliefs or behavior of the Muslim public. The word fatwa comes from the Arabic root f-t-w , whose meanings include 'youth, newness, clarification, explanation'. A number of terms related to fatwa derive from
16104-512: The weekly unit sales of all titles reported by book retailers as their general interest bestsellers. We will not comment beyond our methodology on the other questions." The New York Times did not alert its readers to this, unlike The Wall Street Journal, which admitted that books had landed on its bestseller list due to ResultSource's campaign. Soren Kaplan, the source who admitted he had paid ResultSource to land his book, Leapfrogging , on The Wall Street Journal ' s bestseller list, revealed
16236-587: Was a New York Times bestseller for 97 weeks. As detailed in a New York Times article, Relin "suffered emotionally and financially as basic facts in the book were called into question" and ultimately committed suicide on November 15, 2012. In 2009, Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan was written by Greg Mortenson as a sequel to Three Cups of Tea . Mortenson has been criticized by writers such as Peter Hessler and Jon Krakauer for financial mismanagement of his charity, for "dodging accountability" and for writing
16368-585: Was a statement, signed in 2005 in Jordan by nearly 200 prominent Islamic jurists, which served as a "counter-fatwa" against a widespread use of takfir (excommunication) by jihadist groups to justify jihad against rulers of Muslim-majority countries. The Amman Message recognized eight legitimate schools of Islamic law and prohibited declarations of apostasy against them. The statement also asserted that fatwas can be issued only by properly trained muftis, thereby seeking to delegitimize fatwas issued by militants who lack
16500-546: Was actually an accomplished Himalayan climber, even though he claimed to have climbed six Himalayan peaks. Jon Krakauer , a former financial supporter of CAI, questioned Mortenson's accounts of his exploits independently and was interviewed for the 60 Minutes segment mentioned above. The day after the broadcast, Krakauer released his own allegations in a lengthy online article, Three Cups of Deceit : How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His Way . Krakauer explored financial improprieties at CAI in great detail, reporting that
16632-477: Was allowed to remain with CAI as an employee. Mortenson broke all of his remaining ties to CAI by officially retiring from the organization in 2015. Mortenson and David Oliver Relin are co-authors of the New York Times bestselling book Three Cups of Tea . Listen to the Wind , a 32-page book Young Reader's version of Three Cups of Tea for ages 4–8, was written by Greg Mortenson and illustrated by Susan Roth. It
16764-478: Was created by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation , but its legal opinions are not binding. Modern fatwas have been marked by an increased reliance on the process of ijtihad , i.e. deriving legal rulings based on an independent analysis rather than conformity with the opinions of earlier legal authorities ( taqlid ). While in the past muftis were associated with a particular school of law ( madhhab ), in
16896-482: Was established in a number of madrasas (law colleges) as a centralized place for issuing of fatwas, and these organizations to a considerable extent replaced independent muftis as religious guides for the general population. Following independence, most Muslim states established national organizations devoted to issuing fatwas. One example is the Egyptian Dar al-Ifta , founded in 1895, which has served to articulate
17028-477: Was interviewed on Today by Tom Brokaw . He apologized and acknowledged that he had let a lot of people down, saying: "I failed in many ways, and it's an important lesson." In May 2011, Jean Price and Michele Reinhart , along with Dan Donovan, a Great Falls attorney, filed a class action lawsuit against Mortenson on behalf of readers, asking federal judge James Malloy in Missoula to place all proceeds from
17160-622: Was not foreseen by legal theory, which saw futya as a transaction between one qualified jurist and one "unqualified" petitioner. In theory, a mufti was expected to issue fatwas free of charge. In practice, muftis commonly received support from the public treasury, public endowments or private donations. Taking of bribes was forbidden. Until the 11th or 12th century, the vast majority of jurists held other jobs to support themselves. These were generally lower- and middle-class professions such as tanning, manuscript copying or small trade. In theory, fatwas could be delivered orally or in writing, but it
17292-491: Was scheduled that afternoon in the Atlanta convention facility. In an April 2011 Outside magazine interview, Greg Mortenson insisted that Krakauer contacted him only once and inaccurately claimed that he had been trying to get hold of him for some time. He claimed that although he arranged to meet with Krakauer, the interview was eventually cancelled "once I realized how deep and dirty this whole thing was". Mortenson wrote
17424-477: Was the founding principal of International School Moshi . Spending his early childhood and adolescence in Tanzania, Mortenson learned to speak fluent Swahili . In the early 1970s, when he was 15 years old, Mortenson and his family left Tanzania and moved back to Minnesota. From 1973 to 1975, he attended Ramsey High School in Roseville, Minnesota , from which he graduated. After high school, Mortenson served in
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