The fountains of paradise

"Science fiction story about a space elevator, 36,000 kilometers high, built on an island in the Indian Ocean in the 22nd century."
"2142 AD. Vannevar Morgan, a brilliant engineer, is on the verge of realizing his dream of building a gigantic 'space elevator', to begin Man's interplanetary civilization. His only obstacle is that the mountain suitable to hold the elevator is jealously guarded by monks, and they are not about to give way."@en
"Vannemar Morgan's dream is to link Earth to the stars with the greatest engineering feat of all time. A 24,000-mile-high space elevator. But first he must solve a million technical, political, and economic problems while allaying the wrath of God. For the only possible site on the planet for Morgans Orbital Tower is the monastery atop the Sacred Mountain of Sri Kanda."@en
"Vannemar Morgan's dream is to link Earth to the stars with the greatest engineering feat of all time. A 24,000-mile-high space elevator. But first he must solve a million technical, political, and economic problems while allaying the wrath of God. For the only possible site on the planet for Morgans Orbital Tower is the monastery atop the Sacred Mountain of Sri Kanda."
"The story of an attempt to build a tower from Earth to a synchronous satellite."