Photographer Bryan Denton gets a rare glimpse inside the Lebanese group’s flourishing youth movement
Well Organized
Mahdi Scouts march in at a ceremony held in their honor at "Scout City", a large recreation facility for Scout programs in Lebanon's Beka'a valley. The Scouts are the vanguard of a youth movement controlled by the militant Shi'ite group Hizballah.Bryan Denton
Devotion
Teenage Scout members listen to the group's top official, Nazih Fayyad, deliver a speech praising the organization.Bryan Denton
Idyl
Portraits of Ayatollah Khomeini adorn the riverbanks at a Scouts summer camp in southern Lebanon.Bryan Denton
Badge
The scout uniform includes an image of Ayatollah Khomeini.Bryan Denton
Committed
Some of the Scouts graduates go on to become trained fighters in Hizballah's military wing; others are drawn into the group's bureaucracy.Bryan Denton
Friends
Ali, 13, right, and Mohamad, 11, left, pose at the Scouts' el-Khiam chapter.Bryan Denton
Fun
The Scouts offer intense religious training, outdoor activities, arts and crafts and performances. In this photo, teenage Scouts help an older member make adjustments to a costume.Bryan Denton
Women’s Auxiliary
With an estimated 60,000 children and Scout leaders, the Mahdi Scouts are the largest of the scout groups in Lebanon.Bryan Denton
Attentive
These young women are training to be group leaders.Bryan Denton
Drawing
Young Scout members work on pictures of Israeli forces being expelled from Lebanon in 2000.Bryan Denton
Nation
A Scout leader distributes Lebanese flags to junior members of the organization at a weekend activities session in el-Khiam.Bryan Denton
