Posted on 03/05/2008 9:23:36 AM PST by Kasi
I read (forget where) recently that a "Muslim" Boy Scout troop hiking caused suspicion and several reports were called in to the police. Apparently, all was deemed "OK."
My query: do not the Boy Scouts pledge allegiance to GOD, not Allah, and are they not Christian-church affiliated? Also wonder "how" passersby knew they were Muslim... only way I can figure is by dress, but what was so different from the "normal" scout dress was not offered.
Before my query here, did try to research via an internet search, but only found confirmation of Muslim Boy Scouts, with an indication they must pray 5x a day to Allah.
So, I am a bit baffled, have no children or friends with their sons/grandsons in Scouts. Am not prejudiced, just curious.
Hope someone can shed some light for me.
Where’s that pic of the Palestinian kid dressed up as a suicide bomber? THAT’s your Muslim boy scout.
I call them bastardized troops. It is similar to someone starting a new church because they want to ignore or add to the Gospel.
when I was a scout as a kid, I didn;t find the religious tones to really play that large a role (beyond a mention of God in the oath)
I just thought it was cool that we got to shoot guns....wait a minute
Boy Scouts must believe in a Higher Creator- They can call the Creator by whatever name fits their religious beliefs.
It is only atheists that have a problem with that.
And of course there are Muslim Scouts and Scouts of many no-Judeao Christian beliefs- there have been for decades- Baden Powell established Scouting a hundred years ago in countries and cultures all over the globe.
They are in a lot of countries, under a lot of flags, but our scouts pledge allegiance to "Old Glory" and none other!
Silverleaf is correct. Boy Scouts must pledge a belief in God.
Although I believe that most Scouts are believers in the God of the Bible, there are many muslim, hindu etc. Boy Scouts. In general, we are a very non-sectarian bunch.
This Sunday, my church will be honoring our scouts with Scout Sunday. The boys will all be in Uniform. Coincidentally, it will be my turn to open the service. I will dispense with the usual shirt and tie and wear my uniform as well. One of my sons will be presented with his God and Me religious service medal which is an optional Scout program with the awarded presented by the church rather than the Scout unit.
I’m a former Boy Scout. The Boy Scouts require reverence, not adherance to a specific religion. As I’m sitting here reciting the Boy Scout oath in my mind (amazing that I can do it after 35 years), I notice that there is a phrase that a Boy Scout should on his honor do his best and duty to “God and country” and keeps himself (I think) “physically strong” and morally straight.
A Moslem could argue that he does those things. In reality, of course, Islam traditionally undermines its host until it is replaced by a Moslem theocracy, but a Moslem Boy Scout seems like it quite possible. I know that the Boy Scouts has reverence badges for being Buddhist, Jewish, Unitarian, and Catholic, so why not Moslem?
Lord Baden-Powell might also be spinning in his grave.
Boy Scouts only require belief in a ‘god’ and do not require it to be the Judeo-Christian God. Infact, there is nothing that prohibits a mix of Christian, Jewish, Moslem and Hindu boys in the same troop. Provided that the Scoutmaster is not a jihadi himself, Boy Scouts can go a long way in innoculating the boy from the jihadi mentality and integrating him into the great America melting pot (versus multiculturalism).
They are not.
It’s Girl Scout Sunday- I’ll be in Church with my girls in uniform
I have my father’s Boy Scout Manual from 1936, and it has a wonderful picture of “Scouting Around the World” - with one of the boys wearing a turban!
True “multiculturalism” celebrates the best that Man can be. Scouting has long been that, for boys and men the world over...
“Lord Baden-Powell might also be spinning in his grave.”
Do you think in all his travels and in his military career, and then in establishing and leading World scouting, Baden Powell never met and mingled with and respected Muslims? As well as Hindus, African nativists, and various other world religions?
Or that he then or now would find the Islamic faith to not meet the Boy Scout standard of recognizing and being reverent toward a Supreme Being?
What would set him spinning is the gaffe over overt homesexuals as role models and leaders for boys!
Cool.
Have fun. We don’t currently have any Girl Scouts in our church, otherwise we’d include them as we had in the past.
When I was a kid, my brothers weren't allowed to join scouts because they weren't godly enough. The scouts just mentioned God once in a while but mostly concentrated on camping and things like that. We all went to Awana, a church-basement scouting-type club for boys and girls that really focused on God.
National Council On Islamic Scouting
http://journals.aol.com/islcommishbsa/NationalCouncilOnIslamicScouting/
National Islamic Committee
on Girl Scouting
http://www.nicgs.com/
“Excerpt from the Declaration of Religious Principle
The Boy Scouts of America maintains that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing an obligation to God and, therefore, recognizes the religious element in the training of the member, but it is absolutely nonsectarian in its attitude toward that religious training. Its policy is that the home and organization or group with which the member is connected shall give definite attention to religious life. Only persons willing to subscribe to these precepts of the Declaration of Religious Principle and to the Bylaws of the Boy Scouts of America shall be entitled to certificates of membership.”
This is what is on the BSA application. And they are nonsectarian. mosques are just as qualified to sponsor troops as churches. The largest (in numbers of units) sponsor in the USA is the LDS church which most other churches disagree with as well.
My kids do AWANA too. Outside of being an organization for kids, there’s no comparing the two. They have different aims and goals. AWANA is great, and Scouting is great, but for different reasons. A friend of mine, who recently passed on at 93 was likely one of the first Cub Scouts in America. He had to drop out as well because his mom wanted him only to go to church stuff.
>>>What would set him spinning is the gaffe over overt homesexuals as role models and leaders for boys!<<<
I was thinking about that and the general anti-BSA movement in this country by the Left and the ACLU... and not presenting those thoughts clearly, either.
Blessings to ALL for enlightening me! I didn’t expect such a response and do much appreciate. CongratuLEItions to the scouts (boys and girls) being honored in upcoming church ceremonies! Guess that’s why I thought the scouts were church-affiliated, as I see them at my church ceremonies and fellowships. I also did not know scouting started in the UK and is global. I would like to search more for understanding with the Islamic links provided; however, think that might put me on a government watch list, which I don’t want. Believe me, I’m glad our gov’t has a stance for checking-out Islamic websites, hope we get all the Islamic terrorists, one way or another, and soon... but don’t want to be “watched” for viewing Islamic links. And what a fine notion, joining many different religions into one scouting troop, perhaps opening hearts, minds with acceptance and healthy bodies. Maluhia (Peace)
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