The Ruling on Scouting Camps and Going to Them
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
His Eminence the Shaykh: Among the extracurricular activities in schools is what is called the scouting activity. They have trips and other activities, and they have decided to hold camps in the cities of Jeddah and Ta'if for a week during the vacation. The young people who go to these camps are no younger than sixteen years old, and they claim that some students of knowledge are with them. What is the ruling on young people participating in those camps, and what is your guidance to their guardians regarding travel? May Allah reward you with good.
I think that it should be the case that such centers are established in the same country,Meaning: where each country establishes a center for them so that they can gather the young people around it, and they do not need to travel. They will be more reassuring to their families and better protected from loose behavior; because those who travel to other countries may be given room for loose behavior at the beginning of the day or at the end of it, or at night, especially for example in some parks by the sea in Jeddah or the like. So I think that the guides should strive to have the centers established in their own countries.
But if someone is an older, sensible, and respectable person and wants to go with these people in order to participate in the guidance and counseling, then there is nothing wrong with that. As for a young boy going just for a leisure trip, I do not think that is right,And if I were not to say: it is forbidden, but I think that something other than it is better than it.
I think that it should be the case that such centers are established in the same country,Meaning: where each country establishes a center for them so that they can gather the young people around it, and they do not need to travel. They will be more reassuring to their families and better protected from loose behavior; because those who travel to other countries may be given room for loose behavior at the beginning of the day or at the end of it, or at night, especially for example in some parks by the sea in Jeddah or the like. So I think that the guides should strive to have the centers established in their own countries.
But if someone is an older, sensible, and respectable person and wants to go with these people in order to participate in the guidance and counseling, then there is nothing wrong with that. As for a young boy going just for a leisure trip, I do not think that is right,And if I were not to say: it is forbidden, but I think that something other than it is better than it.