Since the beginning of 2023, I have been serving as the lead researcher (principal investigator) of the Muslim Diversity Study, a three-year planned longitudinal quantitative study of Muslim values, attitudes, self-perception, diversity, flourishing, wellbeing, meaning-making, resilience, and health outcomes. Here, I provide a brief overview. Please be sure to visit the Muslim Diversity Study website to read further.
I try to keep this updated as I make progress.
The need for MDS
I initiated the Muslim Diversity Study to enhance Muslim representation in discussions about Aotearoa New Zealand. Recognizing the underrepresentation of Muslims in the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study, I developed this booster study to leverage NZAVS infrastructure and clarify Muslim diversity, resilience mechanisms, and similarities with other faiths. Interviews with many Muslims from diverse backgrounds highlighted a strong interest in self-perception, diversity, and flourishing, prompting this project to enhance community partnerships and engage Muslims in longitudinal research.
Project Goals and Community Engagement
Led by members of the Muslim community, this project aims to recruit 3,000 Muslims annually for NZAVS participation, publish high-quality research, and foster closer ties between the Muslim community and science. The study, funded by the Templeton Religion Trust, will regularly share findings with the community through reports, infographics, and publications, and with government organizations to influence policy. Engagement efforts include inaugural talks in major cities, outreach via mosques and community organizations, and community talks across New Zealand. For more information, contact Usman Afzali at usman.afzali@canterbury.ac.nz.
MDS Team
Core Team
Our team includes five core team members:
- Dr Usman Afzali, University of Canterbury
- Professor Joseph Bulbulia, Victoria University of Wellington
- Associate Professor Kumar Yogeeswaran, University of Canterbury
- Professor Chris Sibley, University of Auckland
- Mr. Aarif Rasheed, Lawyer, Just Community
To know more about the core team, please visit this page
Research Team
Our research team includes 20+ research assistants, media team, and a project admin. The research team works in six cities of New Zealand, Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin.
Confidentiality and Ethics Approval
At NZAVS, we prioritize participant confidentiality, ensuring all personal details are encrypted and stored separately from questionnaire data. Only Professor Chris Sibley and trusted research assistants have access to these details, used solely for contacting participants and providing research feedback. The MDS is regulated by the University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee, with current ethics approval valid until 26/05/2027 (Reference Number: UAHPEC22576). This ethical oversight is crucial for protecting participants’ rights and wellbeing, minimizing risks, and maintaining public trust in the research. For ethical concerns, contact the University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee at humanethics@auckland.ac.nz.
Events
We engage with public via forums, pulic lectures, research presentation, symposia, etc. Details to be provided on the MDS website.
Participation
We need much needed help in terms of data collection. Please participate in our research by following this link to complete the online version, or write to me at usman.afzali@canterbury.ac.nz to send you a paper copy.
Reports and Publications
MDS reports and publications will be published regularly in the MDS website.
The Flourishing Lab
The Flourishing Lab has been established in Jan, 2023 at University of Canterbury. It consists a team of multidisciplinary researchers from across New Zealand. The aim is to discover and study factors that affect human flourishing, meaning-making, resilience, and wellbeing.
The current project of the The Flourishing Lab is A National Longitudinal Study of Muslim Diversity and Flourishing. It is aimed to discover predictors of flourishing and resilience, and exploring diversity in New Zealand Mulsim community by conducting a longitudinal panel study in the context of the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (NZAVS).
In the panel study, data are collected from the sampe participants overtime.
Project Summary
NZAVS is a nationally representative panel study of New Zealanders that started in 2009. It is currently following 38,551 participants, almost 1% of the New Zealand’s adult population. Over 20% of NZAVS survey items were developed with global virtue experts to specifically investigate the interplay of religion, virtue, and flourishing as people age. Despite strong NZAVS coverage of New Zealand’s population, less than 0.5% of New Zealand’s Muslims are currently participating in the study (n = 70). The proposed project will build on existing Muslim community partnerships to boost the NZAVS Muslim sample by 2,000 participants, thus enabling to explore Muslim flourishing longitudinally on a national level.
Why we need this project?
A panel study follows the same individuals over time and is ideal for addressing questions about how life experiences combine with beliefs and circumstances that affect human flourishing. However, because the necessary longitudinal datasets are lacking, little is known about the dynamics of Muslim faith and flourishing. It is important to address this gap in understanding because: (a) religion has long been theorized to play an enabling role in human flourishing, and (b) Islam is a growing religion. As such, the systemic study of Muslim flourishing is among science’s greatest uncharted frontiers. In addition, Muslims have been the targets of stereotyping and prejudice in New Zealand. By capitalizing on NZAVS infrastructure, this project will address an urgent scientific need and clarify the extent of Muslim diversity, mechanisms of resilience, and lines of similarity with other faiths.
Much of our work to date with the Muslim community has focused on conveying information about how Muslims are perceived. However, we have identified strong signals of Muslim interest in flourishing science: recently, we have talked with 29 Muslims from diverse backgrounds across New Zealand. They had a 100% agreement on conducting research on Muslims self-perception, as well as the scientific study of Muslim flourishing. Therefore, we believe that the proposed project will amplify our community partnerships and foster Muslims’ interest by involving them in longitudinal science.
This project will have the most importance to Muslims as explained above. Additionally, it will also be important to the public, and to understanding about Muslims living in the Western countries that share a similar way of life with New Zealand.
This project will give us a scientific understanding of Muslim flourishing, thereby, a timely and under-researched connection of religion and flourishing will be explored. The data from this project could also be used by NZAVS researchers who publish on other aspects of life such as health, politics, life satisfaction, etc. This is substantial because due to minute participation of Muslims in the ongoing NZAVS research, we do not have meaningful understanding about these aspects of Muslims in New Zealand. With this project, we have established The Flourishing Lab at University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha, that would attract further research and scholarship.
The target audience of this project are the Muslim community, academics, science readers, rights advocates, and policy makers. The outputs are a rich longitudinal dataset of 3660 observations, 6 public talks, a seminar for government officials, and six scientific publications.
Purpose
This website is intended to provide introduction to the the Muslim Flourishing Study. Furthermore, findings, progress reports, publications, and data analysis code will be made available in a timely manner.
Privacy
We take privacy extremely seriously. Since the beginning of NZAVS (14 years ago), we have put practices in place that ensure our participants’ identities and personal information are kept strictly confidential. Please read further about our privacy here.
Got questions?
Please contact Usman Afzali usman.afzali@canterbury.ac.nz