Northern Ireland's first Muslim scout group set for Belfast

There are about 12,000 members and leaders in the Scouts in Northern Ireland

The first Muslim scout group in Northern Ireland is to be established in Belfast.

The 117th Belfast Islamic Centre Scout Group has been set up with the help of Scouts NI.

It is holding an event to register new members for the group on Saturday 17 September.

There are about 12,000 members and leaders in the Scouts in Northern Ireland, making it one of the biggest youth organisations in the country.

There are already more than 70 Muslim Scout groups in the UK, who are part of the wider-UK Scout organisation.

But the one in Belfast will be the first group in Northern Ireland.

The chief commissioner of Scouts NI, Stephen Donaldson, said that the new group would enable the movement to keep growing in Northern Ireland.

"We're looking to areas where we haven't been so much in evidence in the past," he told BBC News NI.

"With my role being a national role and being across in England quite a lot, I got to know about the Muslim Scout fellowship.

The leader of the new Muslim Scout Group is Ameer Ibrahim

"That was the motivation for us to get it started in Northern Ireland.

"We kind of thought that there's a community there that probably needs us as much as we need them.

"To get people involved in scouting you need to be in their community, so that's very much our way of looking at this in Northern Ireland as well."

The leader of the new Muslim Scout Group is Ameer Ibrahim.

He had been a Sea Scout in Sudan as a child before he came to live in Northern Ireland.

"I enjoyed my time when I was in the Sea Scouts, I learned a lot - swimming, canoeing, sailing, camping," he told BBC News NI.

"Scouts is a worldwide organisation, it has no religious ideology or any political point of view."

Mr Ibrahim said that the differences in the Muslim Scouts were small and mainly to do with some of the uniform worn, rather than any activities.

"Our girls can wear the scarf, they can cover their body," he said.

The Scouts is one of the biggest youth organisations in the country

"Same for the men, if they want to do their prayers, whatever, they will have that identity that belongs to them.

"We can do our own ritual things when we need to, such as fasting during the month of Ramadan."

Otherwise the Muslim Scouts do the same activities and take the same badges as any Scout group.

Mr Ibrahim said the new group hoped to attract some refugees and asylum-seekers who had recently come to Northern Ireland.

More than one in every 20 schoolchildren in Northern Ireland are "newcomer pupils" who make up over 5% of the school population.

There has also been a rise in the number of children coming to Northern Ireland as refugees or asylum-seekers in recent years.

"More and more people come from diverse, different countries to Northern Ireland, especially youth," Ameer Ibrahim said.

"They don't know where to go or where to belong.

"People with language barriers or any financial difficulties, that will not be a problem.

"We'll be there just to help them and obviously the Scouts are there to help and give them that opportunity for their potential to be fulfilled."

He added: "There are a lot of challenges but we've got a lot of help from the local Scouts.

"I can't speak highly enough about them, I appreciate all their help."

The 117th Belfast Islamic Centre Scout Group will meet in the cross-community Agápē Centre on Belfast's Lisburn Road.

It is registering new members for Scouts aged from 10 - 14 and Explorer Scouts aged from 15 -18 at the Centre on Saturday 17 September from 1800 to 2000 BST.

According to Ameer Ibrahim groups for younger children will follow in future as more volunteer leaders are recruited.

Stephen Donaldson said the new Muslim group is further evidence of Scouting's global reach

For Stephen Donaldson, the new Muslim group is further evidence of Scouting's global reach.

"I was at the last world scout jamboree in America and there were about 50,000 or 60,000 scouts there from all over the world," he said.

"All those young people just mixed, it was just unbelievable how much they mixed and came together.

"In Northern Ireland, if we can get into that community, those Scouts will be integrated into Scout districts and Scout counties just like any other Scout troop."

He added: "They'll do the same badges, the same outdoor opportunities, the same activities.

"It's really exciting - we're really, really pleased.

"Young people need organisations like Scouts since the pandemic more than ever."