Understanding Thier Beliefs

Mortenson has the urge to learn how to pray and asks the tailor, Manzoor to teach him. During his first attempt, Manzoor critiques him by exclaiming, "We do not appear before Allah like a man waiting for a bus. We submit respectfully to Allah's will". Mortenson then tries to improve the way he prays in order to seek approval from the people. He puts himself in an awkard position at first but he strives to be viewed as not an outsider but a person willing to help and learn from their culture. I believe it is a big step in his journey to understand more about the people he is going to help. If you want to help someone, it is better to learn more about them. Otherwise, you could end up offending them in some way and the fact that Mortenson continued to pray after he was taught shows that he is trying to really feel what they feel during prayer.