If the line of "...Scouting is offering the same message or program to all groups — regardless..." was actually true - as is claimed - why is a separate group needed ??
Hindu Scouts, Enviro Scouts, Boys that want to be Girls Scouts, Short Guy Scouts, Special Scouts, Anything but Christian Scouts, Everything-Hyphenated Scouts........
Sea Scouts aren't Air Scouts, etc.
It's called Freedom Of Choice, the freedom to choose those you wish to be with.
Sadly, the usual cockroaches will now show up here to slam anything they don't understand.
Oh, and the sponsoring organization does have the option of which boys enroll in their units. There are units of just orthodox jews, mormons, blacks, etc.
As a matter of fact, the Mormons have their OWN Scout Handbook.
Their motto:
"Be prepared to kill all infidels."
Yup.
I can't see how any Muslum could honor and obey the Scout Law, because that moon-god allah character is not G-d.
He has to be kidding. I didn't think the boy scouts approved of treating women like second class citizens, doormats, pieces of property or slaves.
I found scouting to be a benefit. Enough to earn Eagle Scout. FYI, the Mormon Church adopted scouting as the preferred program for training young men in proper principles and values. A completely separate program is offered for the Young Women because no suitable equivalent is available outside the church.
First, let's make sure everyone understands just what's being done here. This is not the formation of the Islamic Boy Scouts in the U.S. I admit I'm filling the blanks some, but from my (experienced) understanding of the BSA, what is happening is that the Salahadeen Center is sponsoring a Boy Scout Troop in their town, and has installed Mr. Ezzeir as it's Scoutmaster. I personally cannot think of a better way to give a group of young men both theoretical and practical understanding of what it means to be an American. These Scouts will have to learn what Duty to God and Duty to Country mean in America, where those concepts are separate, not joined as they are in many Islamic countries. They will be taught that "A Scout is Reverent" means
"A scout is reverent toward God. He is faithful in his religious duties. He respects the beliefs of others." (my emphasis).
Those that advance past First Class will probably earn Citizenship in the Community, where they will have to get and demonstrate an understanding of how their local government works by studying it, attending a meeting of it, examining a copy of the budget and explaining it, etc. They will likely earn Citizenship in the Nation merit badge, among whose requirements are to read the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution (including the amendments) and explain them. They will likely earn Citizenship in the World, where they will have to explain the difference between Constitutional and non-Constitutional governments, give examples of 5 different kinds of governments, and how citizenship in the United States differs in rights, privileges, and reponsibilities than citizenship in other countries.
Even though secular organizations sponsor about 1/2 of the BSA's traditional membership, the BSA believes that all Scouts must have spiritual development. Here's the BSA's 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 is absolutely nonsectarian in its attitude toward that religious training. The Boy Scouts of America's policy is that the home and the organization or group with which the member is connected shall give definite attention to religious life.
Despite the use of the word "God", the BSA intreprets it, and the term non-sectarian, to include non-Judeo/Christian youth and adults. Note here that the list of religious awards that the BSA allows its members to wear on their uniforms includes numerous non-Judeo/Christian religions.
The purpose of the BSA (you can read more about this in detail here) is to provide community organizations (both religious and non-religious) a program that they can use to teach central American values, and the values of that community organization, to youth. It has always been intended that Scouting be used by local organizations to inculcate that local organization's values into youth, as well as the values expressed in Scouting. Of course, many people here seem to feel that the values of Islam and the values of the United States of America are not reconcilable. I will not get into that argument, as I don't know enough about Islam to judge this. All I do know is that the BSA accepts Islamic youth and adults into Scouting, whereas they are not shy about excluding people whose values they think contradict those of Scouting, such as homosexuals and atheists.
The great value of the Scouting method is that Scouts get practical instruction as well as theoretical: you can be told until you're blue in the face that you have to accept the responsibilities of citizenship, but wait until a Scout forgets to buy the food or "forgets" to clean the pots for his patrol on a campout. His fellow patrol members will make him understand the consequences of not meeting up to his responsibilities far better than any teacher can. Very few children could give you the dictionary definition of Trustworthy; but when a Scout is rock climbing, and another Scout holding a rope is the only thing keeping him from falling 50 feet onto broken rock if he slips, both Scouts learn what that word means in their guts. I have to feel that if young men are to find a way to join the concepts of Islam and American citizenship in their hearts, Scouting is a great way to do it.
Finally, understand that these Scouts will still wear the same uniform, pass all the requirements and earn the same merit badges as Scouts of any other religion. Also, it is not at all uncommon for Scout units to limit their membership to members of the sponsoring organization and their families, and to require the leaders to be active members in the organization. What they cannot do, however, is to require any unit members that are not members of the sponsor (should they accept any) to participate in any religious activities as a condition of membership.
Well...almost all groups regardless.
Bomb-making is now a merit badge.