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Natalie Winters@nataliegwinters · Aug 28, 2026

EXCLUSIVE: Mosques at Scout jamborees. Wudu lessons for four-year-olds. “Allahu Akbar” medals. An “Islamophobia…

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Summary

A report alleges that Boy Scouts and UK Scouts have increasingly incorporated Islamic programming and facilities, including mosques, religious instruction, and awareness badges, following nearly $90 million in funding from Saudi Arabia to World Scouting's Messengers of Peace program. The investigation documents activities ranging from wudu lessons for young children to mosque construction at historic Scout sites, claiming these changes represent institutional integration of Islamic practices into mainstream Scout programming.

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  1. #1

    EXCLUSIVE: Mosques at Scout jamborees. Wudu lessons for four-year-olds. “Allahu Akbar” medals. An “Islamophobia Awareness” badge. Nearly $90 million from Saudi Arabia. This is what the Boy Scouts have become. 🧵

  2. #2

    Saudi Arabia has committed $87 MILLION—nearly $90M—to World Scouting’s Messengers of Peace program: $37M in the first phase, then a new $50M pledge. Scouting America cited the deal as prompting its program “realignment”—and said its Jamboree hub had Saudi support.

  3. #3

    At Scouting America’s flagship National Jamboree: • An inflatable mosque and minaret • Islamic education • Friday worship • “Allahu Akbar” medals for Islamic Booth Staff This was not Riyadh. It was the renamed Boy Scouts’ flagship event in America.

  4. #4

    And it was not just for Muslim troops. A North Carolina Scout council invited “our Scouting families” to Ramadan iftar at an Islamic center, sent a halal-food presentation and told units to circulate it. The target was Scouting’s wider membership.

  5. #5

    UK Scouts offers an official wudu lesson to children as young as FOUR. It tells them to rinse their mouths three times, sniff water into their nostrils and wash their faces. A mosque member may demonstrate it “for everyone to follow.”

  6. #6

    Wudu is only one of 15+ Islamic activities. UK Scouts offers mosque visits, the Five Pillars, iftar, the Black Stone and the call to prayer. Its “Islamophobia Awareness” badge recommends visiting a mosque, inviting an imam or sheikh—and making awareness videos.

  7. #7

    UK Scouts reshaped Scouting to recruit Muslims. Its guide recommended altering handshakes, music, schedules, uniforms and opposite-sex interaction around Islam. Muslim membership rose from 800 to 6,000+. Seventy-six predominantly Muslim Scout groups followed.

  8. #8

    At Gilwell Park—the historic home of British Scouting—a Muslim fellowship runs a mosque it calls a platform to “share the message of Islam.” It says non-Muslims learned wudu there and joined a full Islamic prayer.

  9. #9

    The mosque opened during an event with 4,000+ Explorers. A Muslim Scout jamboree at Gilwell now expects “thousands.” UK Scouts also held a Palestine Awareness Day for 120 children featuring “art as activism.” This is not private worship. It is Scout programming.

  10. #10

    Nearly $90M from Saudi Arabia. An inflatable mosque and “Allahu Akbar” medals in America. Wudu for four-year-olds. Badges and recruitment drives. A mosque at Scouting’s historic home. Islam is being built into the institution itself. Full report ⬇️ NatalieGWinters.substack.com