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Siraj Narsi, whose son Shahmeer is in Troop 797, believes that their faith and scouting are mutually reinforcing. "The values of scouting are so similar to what we learn in Islam," says Narsi, who was a scout in Pakistan. He recites the 12 virtues in Scout law, which defines a scout as trustworthy, clean, obedient and helpful, as principles particularly prized by Muslims.
There are times, though, when differences between the worlds are jarringly apparent. Boy Scout officials proudly proclaim the group's commitment to pluralism--"We have a duty to God in our oath," says spokesman Robert Bork, "but not a Christian God." Yet that ideal is not always put into practice. Rehman, a jamboree chaplain's aide, recalls how, as he and the other chaplain's aides left a meeting, "everyone was handed a Bible. For a second, I thought it was a one-religion organization." Similarly, although halal meals were requested for Muslim scouts attending the jamboree, no one seems to have ascertained whether the salami in the sandwiches contained pork; bacon was a staple on the breakfast menu. Omar ended up eating meal after meal of peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, shared by a Jewish patrol leader who, suspecting it might be tough to keep kosher, had brought enough for others. And no Muslim chaplain was on site to lead Friday services, so Asad Shahid, 15, of Naugatuck, Conn., nervously guided his fellow scouts to a spot in the shade of a big oak tree, turned to face Mecca and led the prayers for the first time in his life.
Still, the more the Muslim boys are set apart, the more they want to be thought of-- and treated--the same as other scouts. "We're the same. We're the same," insists Ali Raza Jiwani, 14. "We're the same as everyone else: humans made by God." Ali Raza and his buddies talk basketball. They tease one another about girls. They swear. And they are fervently patriotic. "We're proud to be Asian American," says Amin Ali, 15, who has thought about becoming a military pilot. "I love my country," says Salman. "My religion doesn't interfere with that." Some even became scouts in the belief that it would make them seem more American. Auri Moaven, 15, of Short Hills, N.J., says his Iranian-born parents encouraged him to be a scout in part because it would distinguish him from other Muslim kids: "When someone sees me, they will say I've done something extraordinary that most Muslims in America don't do."
At the jamboree, the 13 scouts from Troop 797 camped with troops from the Houston area, and the Muslims' very presence provided a learning experience for the others. "I always thought most Boy Scouts were white, Christian boys," said Jim Scofield, 13, a lanky scout with a quick giggle whose troop is sponsored by a Catholic church. Matthew Griffin, 13, a Mormon scout, says he didn't know that "there are lots of different kinds of Muslims." The Troop 797 scouts are Ismailis, whose practices differ from those of other Muslims; for instance, they pray three times a day instead of five as Sunnis or Shi'ites do. "I've only met two other Muslims in my life, and they both smelled like incense," says Alan Albrecht, 12. "But these guys are just like us."