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Scouts‘ honor: Muhammad ElFiki overlooks the activities of Troop 247, of which Mosab Abdul Rahman (left) and Mohammed Mufid are members. MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTO.
“I love camping,” noted ElFiki, an Egyptian-born Muslim who also serves as the director of Islamic studies and teaches Arabic at the school, for students from pre-k through sixth grade. According to ElFiki, scouting is a great way for Muslim children to learn to participate in their community. He is looking forward to taking the young people camping as well as involving them in community service projects here in town.
“We want our kids to participate in everything,” said the energetic ElFiki, who arrived in Syracuse a year ago, “so the kids can be seen in the community, so Muslims can be seen in the community. We are maybe 10,000 Muslims in this area, but you can see none of them. We should be involved in the community—this helps break stereotypes.”
The Boy Scouts have always had a religious bent, but are officially nondenominational. The Boy Scout Oath, recited at the beginning of meetings, reads: “A scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.” The oath dictates that a scout does his duty “to God and my country.” There is no definition in the scout manual of God or reverence, and scouts come from many religious backgrounds.
Because many scout meetings take place in church basements, and because of high-profile cases in which the Boy Scouts have been aligned with the Christian right (most notably their efforts to ban gay scoutmasters), many in the public mistakenly assume the scouts to be a Christian organization.
In fact, a British scouting Web site estimates that as much as one-third of all scouts worldwide are Muslim. In the United States, according to Time, there are now all-Muslim scout packs and troops in at least 22 states, involving more than 2,000 scouts and leaders. There have been all-Muslim troops in the United States for at least 20 years.
A Muslim scout who goes above and beyond the call of duty in his religious observance is eligible for a special emblem to wear on his uniform, but the emblem is not given by the Boy Scouts, but by his religious leader, according to the Boy Scouts of America Web site. Thirty-five religious denominations, including the Jewish and Roman Catholic faiths, offer scouting emblems to their members who are also scouts. There are no official religious merit badges and religious learning is not required to advance through scouting ranks.
Nurtured by the Muslim American Society, Muslim scout groups serve to promote Islamic values that are seen as in line with American values. “We take the scout guidelines and go for the Muslim meaning,” said ElFiki. “When there is a tree to be planted, or a street to be cleaned up, or the kids are needed to paint something, we want to be there.”
The Muslim American Society was founded in 1992 as an outgrowth of the Muslim Students Association, which defines itself as “a pioneering Islamic organization, an Islamic revival and reform movement that uplifts the individual, family and society.” MAS activities generally seek to integrate Muslims into American society, and scouting is one of their priorities for working to involve Muslim youth. The local chapter of MAS has not been active in recent years.
So, how is a Muslim troop different from any other? For the Girl Scouts, the difference would be noticeable. “The girls can wear their headdresses with no problem, they can follow their beliefs and have a good time,” said ElFiki. But there are more subtle and significant differences as well.
“The difference is the Muslim spirit in it,” he added. “The typical Muslim does everything for God. We say ‘Bismallah,’ which means ‘in the name of God,’ before we undertake anything. When the prayer time comes, we stop and make our prayers five times a day. As a scout I am having fun, but I am not doing this just for fun.“
ElFiki, 32, also believes that scouting and Islam have an environmental ethic in common. “Islam is good for humans and non-humans. By saying ‘Bismallah’ before I act, I am remembering that I am living here, doing this not by myself but with others. Those others include not just human beings, but a tree, an animal, even the water. As a scout I am saying my prayers while I am camping, and I am reminded that I must not waste water, that I should not cut down a tree for no reason. Our kids will be learning to be responsible.
“We don’t believe in living here in a shell,” continued ElFiki. “If you are not part of the community, you are not being a good Muslim.”
The Hiawatha Seaway Council did not return calls seeking comment on this story. In a press release issued on May 2, Council executive Rich Avery, was quoted as saying, “I am very excited to foster a link between the {Syracuse Chapter of the} Muslim American Society and the Hiawatha Seaway Council. The new scouts and their leadership are enthusiastically embracing the programs of America’s largest youth organization.”
—Ed Griffin-Nolan
