Girl Scouts USA responds to controversy over 'Islamic' badges
The Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) came under fire online this week after being accused of "Islamising" its programmes.
On 24 August, White House correspondent and War Room co-host Natalie Winters shared a thread on X titled "The Islamisation of Girl Scouts Across America", featuring photos of badges including one labelled "Girl Scout of the Islamic Faith", alongside others tied to Islamic practices such as Ramadan and Hajj.
EXCLUSIVE: The Islamization of Girl Scouts across America:
— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) August 24, 2026
• GSUSA-approved “GIRL SCOUT OF THE ISLAMIC FAITH” medals
• Non-Muslim girls invited to mosques to observe Islamic prayer
• Hajj patches, Shahada lessons, required white hijabs and Ramadan lock-ins
Nationwide. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/HbyAXeCQoT
“Mosque-based programs operate in Sacramento, Naperville, Long Island, Virginia, Maryland, Brooklyn, San Diego, and more—embedding prayer, hijab rules, Ramadan, Islamic education and mosque outreach into Girl Scouting,” Winters wrote.
The Girl Scouts of the USA responded to the controversy, claiming it is not a religious organisation, does not incorporate religious teachings in its programmes and welcomes girls from every faith.
“Any other faith-based patches are developed by independent organisations, not Girl Scouts of the USA,” the organisation wrote on X.
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— Girl Scouts (@girlscouts) August 25, 2026
GSUSA also clarified that the group's national "My Promise, My Faith" pin allows girls to connect the Girl Scout Law with their own faith.
The Muslim patches circulating online are recognition patches from the Islamic Committee on Girl Scouting, which is one of 29 independent religious organisations that the GSUSA recognises that develop their own programmes. The other 28 represent faiths including Buddhism, Judaism and Christianity, among others.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) backed the GSUSA's response by thanking them for welcoming girls from any faith, including Muslim girls who participate in their own community-built religious programmes.
We welcome the Girl Scouts’ continued efforts to be an inclusive organization for girls of all faith backgrounds, including Muslim girls who wish to participate in religious recognition programs developed by their own communities. Girl Scouts of the USA, like Scouting America,… https://t.co/Yy2xcqKVdP
— CAIR National (@CAIRNational) August 26, 2026
“Those seeking to manufacture outrage over Muslim girls and boys participating in scouting programs are not looking out for children but advancing an ideological agenda, using Muslim youth as fodder for sensationalism, clickbait, and the anti-Muslim hysteria that continues to plague public discourse in our nation,” Cair wrote on X.
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