By Holly Gilbert, CNN
Sterling, Virginia (CNN)Mohammad Azraf Ullah, 17 days old of Herndon, Virginia, has been observing the Muslim holy month of Ramadan since he was a new boy. Believed to purge the body and soul, the food and water fast from dusk until dawn for 30 years is percentage of the five tenants of Islam.
"Patience is one of the biggest things I've learned" said Ullah.
"It reminds me how great God is, and you actually get to be thankful to him for everything he gave you."
Such patience and fear should help Ullah meet the requirements for his Eagle Scout badge, which he's set to make in the upcoming months. The heights school senior and Boy Scout participated in the annual Iftar dinner - or "break of the fast" meal - hosted by the All Dulles Area Muslim Society Scout program on Saturday night.
Based in Northern Virginia, ADAMs is one of the largest American Muslim organizations in the United States.
Their scout program provides an issue for youth in the community to use the basic beliefs of Islam while following the scout law.
Brain Kale presents an award at an Iftar dinner in Northern Virginia.
Like every future Eagle Scout, Ullah must complete a service plan that benefits the community. He too has to look before a panel of review, made up of experienced scouts from the district that measure the case and unity of the new man up for Eagle Scout status.
Brian Kale is a warhorse of Boy Scouts of Us and serves as the Goosecreek District Roundtable Commissioner. He testified to the seamless interweaving of possessing a higher faith and meeting the requirements to get an Eagle Scout.
"The Boy Scouts of Us believes in a higher being. We're not sectarian, we do not distinguish one higher being ended the next. However for a boy to earn Eagle Scout he has to give a reverence toward a higher purpose and a higher being," Kale said.
Whether the scouts are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or use a different faith, Kale emphasizes well roundedness as the direction of Boy Scouts of America.
"The fact that their faith may be different than the boy next to them is immaterial. It's about learning proper skills, character evolution and a thoroughly moral compass."
Kale emphasized one of the 12 points of the Boy Scout Law that reflects a life of margin and spirituality - "A Watch is reverent. He is reverent toward God. He is close in his religious duties and respects the convictions of others in matters of customs and religion," the law reads.
The credo encourages a form of religiosity with scouts and troop leaders and mandates a look of loyalty, bravery, and self-discipline.
Abdul Rashid Abdullah, scoutmaster of Troop 786, said the Islamic religion and Boy Scouts of America are harmonious in doctrine and in practice.
"The Islamic ideals and the scouting ideals are the same. They're compatible," he said. "I can easily talking about the scout law and talk about Koranic verses that co-relate to those scout laws, so it makes it very easy."
A new Muslim girl smiles during an Iftar dinner in Northern Virginia.
Abdullah has been involved with Boy Scouts of Us since childhood. Raised a Roman Catholic, Abdullah converted to Islam while attending University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.
"I met a lot of students from Malaysia and they gave me the chance to ask questions. When I asked the questions I was like, 'That's spot on to what my beliefs already are.' So I just embraced it," he said.
Abdullah, who also serves as a regional chair of the National Islamic Council on Scouting, seizes the chance to weave the key beliefs of Islam with everyday scouting activities.
"I frequently tell parents, 'You're going to get your kids to Sunday school or any to see the Book and to study Islam," said Abdullah. "'When I engage them out camping, we're passing to put that into practice."
No comments:
Post a Comment