The values, ethos, educational focus and international scope of the movement are all compatible with Muslim teachings.
Young people in scouting are encouraged to respect and love God and other people and to cultivate a sense of moral responsibility which are also fundamental principles of Islam.
Joining the huge movement across the world, Queensland’s first Muslim scouting group has been popular among girls.
The Muslim Crescent Scouts in Logan Central, south of Brisbane, is one of the state’s newest groups within the scouting movement.
“People were saying, ‘Let’s do something like Scouts’ and I thought why do something like Scouts — let’s do Scouts,” group founder Farah Scott told ABC on March 8.
“Everyone in the community was very excited when we started because there’s no outside programs at the mosque.
“There was nothing for kids to be sociable, to get outdoors, to get off the devices, and meet other kids and have fun.”
The group has more than 20 members, spanning Joey Scouts (five to seven-year-olds), Cub Scouts (eight to 10), Scouts (11 to 14), Venturer Scouts (15 to 17) and adult scouting leaders who help run activities in each age group.
Popular Movement
Starting in 1907, the Scout movement was popular in the Arab world and out of the 40 million Scouts worldwide, 28 million are Muslim.
“I decided to join the Scouts because I felt like as a male, and in religion, usually the male assumes more work,” Abdullah Gemicioglu, 17, a member of the Muslim Crescent Scouts said.
“I’ve been able to use the skills in real life so learning how to tie knots, lifting other things using rope configurations, so it’s been quite useful.
“I found that most kids nowadays are usually inside too much … they don’t develop any type of skills like back in the days, so I feel it’s a really good activity to do.”
More Muslims have been launching scouting troops across the world.
In 2017, the Eastern British city of Norwich got its first Muslim scout group, encouraging young people of all faiths to join and learn more about Muslims and the scouting movement.
In November 2019, a local mosque in Blackburn launched its own scout group, encouraging Muslim children and volunteers to join the scouting movement.