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Tonya Papanikolas reportingAbout 10-thousand Utah girls belong to the Girl Scouts of America. Of that number, at least 20 percent are sponsored by a religious group.
But one religion has just recently joined the program.
Five high school girls make up Girl Scout troop 786. Tonight, they're learning how to pitch a tent.
Sabah Ul-Hasan, Girl Scout: "We didn't have instructions, so we had to figure it out on our own."
The young women hold a special distinction. They're part of the first Muslim Girl Scout troop in Utah.
The girls do everything the other girl scouts do, like sell cookies. But they also draw on their culture and religion.
The troop begins each meeting with a prayer to Allah, during which the girls wear "hijab"-- the traditional Muslim head covering. They also revise the Girl Scout promise.
"On my honor, I will try to serve Allah."
The troop lets the girls get to know other young women who share their faith.
Sabah Ul-Hasan: "It's hard growing up in America being Muslim." "But when you come together with other Muslims, you feel like you can be yourself and you can do whatever you want."
It also gives them an opportunity to learn more traditional American pasttimes.
Noor Ul-Hasan, Troop Leader: "A lot of these girls, their parents have not grown up here. They're first generation, so they haven't been able to do things like hiking or fishing or things like that. And we've done that."
Mahreen Bashir, Girl Scout: "I would have never learned how to take a fish and gut it. We learned that."
Both the organization and the members like the diversity the troop brings.
Elaine Gause, CEO, Girl Scouts of Utah: "They send that message that everyone is welcome in Girl Scouting."
Khadija Khan, Girl Scout: "It kind of helps to show a lot about the misconceptions with Islam and our religion."
Whether the young women are learning how to balance a checkbook or pitch a tent, the girls say they've already learned a lot from being a Girl Scout.
The original Muslim troop also had younger Brownies and Girl Scouts in it. Then the older girls broke off so they could learn more leadership skills.
The Girl Scout organization says it hopes it will see more Muslim troops in the future.
