Islamic lessons for four-year-olds. A mosque at Scouting’s historic headquarters. An inflatable minaret and “Allahu Akbar” medals at America’s National Jamboree. Behind the global movement: $87 million from Saudi Arabia.
The Islamization of Scouting is no longer confined to Muslim-only troops.
Across American and British Scouting, Islam is now appearing in national events, children’s activities, badges, recruitment plans, family programming and permanent infrastructure. At the same time, Saudi Arabia has placed an effective $87 million behind World Scouting’s flagship Messengers of Peace program—including a Saudi-supported operation inside America’s National Jamboree.
Scouting America—the renamed Boy Scouts of America—used its official faith account to promote an Islamic booth at its 2026 National Jamboree. Attendees were invited to get henna, pose with an inflatable mosque and minaret, “learn more about their faith” and attend Friday’s Islamic service.
At another Islamic gathering during the same national event, the account announced that Islamic Booth Staff had received “Allahu Akbar (God is Great) Jamboree” medals.
This is spreading beyond one event. A North Carolina Scouting America council invited “our Scouting families” to a 2026 Ramadan iftar at an Islamic center, circulated a halal-food presentation and asked units to distribute the invitation.
UK Scouts offers an optional Islamic ritual-washing lesson to every section—from Squirrels ages four to six through Explorers. Children may rinse their mouths, sniff water into their nostrils and perform wudu together while leaders teach that the Qur’an contains the “pure word of Allah.” Leaders can invite someone from a local mosque to demonstrate “for everyone to follow.”
Its national library contains at least 15 Islam-focused activities: mosque visits, the Five Pillars, iftar, the Black Stone story and an Islamic-call-to-prayer lesson open to “all groups.” Its optional Islamophobia Awareness Month badge recommends listening to the adhan, visiting a mosque, inviting an imam or sheikh and producing awareness videos.
UK Scouts says its Muslim-engagement toolkit resulted from a three-year project literally called “Attracting Young Muslims to Scouting”, supported by Islamic Relief UK, the Aziz Foundation and Pears Foundation. It advises leaders about changing the traditional handshake, music, meeting times, uniforms and opposite-sex interaction around Islamic practices.
Muslim membership grew from 800 in 2011 to more than 6,000 in 2021. By 2022, the Muslim Scout Fellowship had formed 76 predominantly Muslim groups.
At Gilwell Park—the historic home of British Scouting—the Fellowship operates a mosque. Its archived page describes the park’s estimated 500,000 yearly visitors as a platform for sharing Islam’s message and celebrates non-Muslims learning wudu or joining a full prayer. The Fellowship separately said it opened the mosque to more than 4,000 Explorers during one event.
World Scouting now advertises a 2026 Muslim Scout Fellowship International Jamboree at Gilwell, with “thousands of Muslim Scouts” expected. UK Scouts also reported a Palestine Awareness Day for roughly 120 children ages four to 14 featuring Arabic calligraphy, Palestinian-colored badges and “art as activism.”
In the background, Saudi Arabia has been deploying nearly $90 million to Scouting America.
Auditors recorded an original $37.25 million Saudi pledge, minus $250,000 that would not be received: an effective $37 million. Riyadh then signed another $50 million agreement in 2025. Total: $87 million.
World Scouting says the renewal targets more than 100 million Scouts in 176 countries and aligns with Saudi Vision 2030. Current Messengers of Peace grant rules require funded projects to display Saudi Arabia’s name and logo and align communications with donor requirements.
Scouting America’s publication cited that $50 million Saudi commitment under “What prompted this realignment?” before explaining why it updated its American program. At the 2026 Jamboree, its international account said Saudi-supported Scouts would assemble 5,000 disaster-relief kits through a hub whose graphic placed the Saudi emblem beside Scouting America’s branding.
The Saudi records do not prove Riyadh purchased every lesson, badge or Islamic event; most were optional. They establish the scale surrounding the transformation: Western Scouting is teaching, recruiting around and publicly celebrating Islam while Saudi Arabia bankrolls the global machinery carrying Scouting’s new model worldwide.
