--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you look at the 9/11 highjackers…" description: "\"If you look at the 9/11 highjackers, certainly they were educated, some even had university degrees, but nobody really checked their mothers, who were ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/greg-mortenson-7579_degrees_if-you-look-at-the-9-11-highjackers-cert_456948.jpg" --- # If you look at the 9/11 highjackers, certainly they were… ![“If you look at the 9/11 highjackers, certainly they were educated, some even had university degrees, but nobody really checked their mothers, who were nearly all illiterate.” quote by Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/greg-mortenson-7579_degrees_if-you-look-at-the-9-11-highjackers-cert_456948.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/greg-mortenson-7579_degrees_if-you-look-at-the-9-11-highjackers-cert_456948.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/greg-mortenson-7579_degrees_if-you-look-at-the-9-11-highjackers-cert_456948.jpg) > “If you look at the 9/11 highjackers, certainly they were educated, some even had university degrees, but nobody really checked their mothers, who were nearly all illiterate.” [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It suggests that formal education does not guarantee moral integrity, highlighting the importance of character over credentials. **In simple terms:** Education alone doesn't ensure good character. Key Takeaway Value character over credentials. Themes education ethics character social responsibility Mood thoughtful concerned Type ethical social When to use this quote - hiring decisions - parenting - community leadership Key Concepts moral development critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How can we assess character beyond academic background? - What role does upbringing play in moral development? A Different Perspective It risks stereotyping groups. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) ## Related quotes > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) > [You can hand out condoms, drop bombs, build roads, or put in electricity, but until the girls are educated a society won’t change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/you-can-hand-out-condoms-drop-bombs-build-roads-or-put-in-electricity/) [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) > [You can't have people making decisions about the future of the world who are scientifically illiterate. That's a recipe for disaster. And I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/you-can-t-have-people-making-decisions-about-the-future-of-the-world/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“Helen Keller became deaf, dumb, and blind shortly after birth. Despite her greatest misfortune, she has written her name indelibly in the pages of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/helen-keller-became-deaf-dumb-and-blind-shortly-after-birth-despite/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I shouldn't say bad stuff about illiterate people. I should write it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-shouldn-t-say-bad-stuff-about-illiterate-people-i-should-write-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Having a financially illiterate society is dangerous, and we have to do something about that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mellody-hobson/having-a-financially-illiterate-society-is-dangerous-and-we-have-to/) [Mellody Hobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mellody-hobson/) > [Luckily, I'm not educated. If you act like an illiterate man, your learning will never stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arunachalam-muruganantham/luckily-i-m-not-educated-if-you-act-like-an-illiterate-man-your/) [Arunachalam Muruganantham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arunachalam-muruganantham/) > [I admire Laura Bush because she's the only librarian who would marry an illiterate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-sparks/i-admire-laura-bush-because-she-s-the-only-librarian-who-would-marry/) [Hal Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-sparks/) > [Illiterate people on the computer and I don't go well together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/illiterate-people-on-the-computer-and-i-don-t-go-well-together/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's a great lesson in modesty that you realize you're illiterate in a field that you think you're an expert in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wim-wenders/it-s-a-great-lesson-in-modesty-that-you-realize-you-re-illiterate-in/) [Wim Wenders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wim-wenders/) > [“the illiterate of the future will not be those that cannot read or write. 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Krishna Iyer > [Ignorance and illiteracy are obviously not synonymous; even illiterate masses can cast their ballots with intelligence, once they are informed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-orville-douglas/ignorance-and-illiteracy-are-obviously-not-synonymous-even-illiterate/) William Orville Douglas ## More by Greg Mortenson > [Our greatest ally in the Pakistan region of turmoil is the moderate Muslim majority, who we must reach out to and embrace if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/our-greatest-ally-in-the-pakistan-region-of-turmoil-is-the-moderate/) [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) > [“People who live in the last places-the people who are most neglected and least valued by the larger world- often represent the best of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/people-who-live-in-the-last-places-the-people-who-are-most-neglected/) [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) > [If you teach a boy, you educate an individual; but if you teach a girl, you educate a community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/if-you-teach-a-boy-you-educate-an-individual-but-if-you-teach-a-girl/) [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) > [You can hand out condoms, drop bombs, build roads, or put in electricity, but until the girls are educated a society won’t change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/you-can-hand-out-condoms-drop-bombs-build-roads-or-put-in-electricity/) [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) > [“I don't want to teach Pakistani's children to think like Americans...I just want them to have a balanced, non-extremist education”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mortenson/i-don-t-want-to-teach-pakistani-s-children-to-think-like-americans-i/) [Greg Mortenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mortenson/) > [I've learned that terror doesn't happen because some group of people somewhere like Pakistan or Afghanistan simply decide to hate us. 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To the degree that I can live in the death of Jesus - to that degree I can channel God's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-giglio/life-comes-from-death-to-the-degree-that-i-can-live-in-the-death-of/) [Louie Giglio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-giglio/) > [By heaven we understand a state of happiness infinite in degree, and endless in duration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/by-heaven-we-understand-a-state-of-happiness-infinite-in-degree-and/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [As hard as I try to live with some degree of faith in my life, I just can't believe that the full moon can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gould/as-hard-as-i-try-to-live-with-some-degree-of-faith-in-my-life-i-just/) [Dana Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gould/) > [The male dares to be different to the degree that he accepts his passivity and his desire to be female, his fagginess. 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That's like my hair-cut, the line, 360 degrees, find knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/my-mother-taught-me-three-things-respect-knowledge-search-for/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [I work with different actors with varied degrees of experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-baker/i-work-with-different-actors-with-varied-degrees-of-experience/) [Sean Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-baker/) > [We are only alive to the degree that we can let ourselves be moved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/we-are-only-alive-to-the-degree-that-we-can-let-ourselves-be-moved/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [Like many others, I have deep misgivings about the state of education in the United States. 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