Methodology
A mixed methodology combining a review of existing sources with primary data collected in the field.
Desk research
The project works with two types of secondary data: general or global data, and specific or local data on the pilot countries. To build the GMD Atlas (a map of Muslim minority and diasporic communities in 48 non-Muslim majority countries), general data is collected predominantly from academic research, official reports, national censuses and other existing sources. The material accumulated from these sources is published online as country factsheets integrated into the Atlas.
Survey
In some countries a particular ethnic community forms a disproportionately large share of the Muslim population: the Turkish community in Germany, the Moroccan community in Spain. The sample structure is therefore designed to ensure diversity and reflect the voices of individuals from different communities. Because Muslim ethnic communities tend towards residential segregation, several neighbourhoods are surveyed in each city so that responses are not drawn from a single area.
Respondents are stratified by ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status and generational status, with the aim of achieving the widest possible diversity. Particular attention is paid to the representation of women, who tend to be under-represented in surveys of this kind. Survey findings are discussed and analysed in the country reports.
In-depth interviews
Ten to fifteen in-depth interviews are conducted in each country. Their purpose is not simply to record what an interviewee thinks, but to draw on their knowledge and perspective regarding Muslim communities in the country. An interview guide covers the country context, the profile of the communities, their relations with one another and with non-Muslim communities, their perspectives on the concept of Muslim diaspora, country-specific issues, and future prospects.
The guide sets out the main questions but interviewers are free to adapt them, particularly where doing so better matches the interviewee’s interest, knowledge and competence on a given issue, so that the exchange yields as much substance as possible.
Country reports
Findings from the desk research, the survey and the interviews are brought together in ten country reports, which integrate, discuss and analyse the fieldwork results alongside the demographic, socio-economic and political profile of each community.