A recent survey of young Muslims, aged between 11 and 24, was undertaken in which the interviewees were asked ten questions relating to their religion, community, goals and place in society. Results overwhelmingly indicated a preoccupation with marriage, baffling researchers who hoped to extract a meaningful snapshot of the interests, behaviour and fears of young Muslims in today’s society.

“We found that even when we asked questions about the current political climate, the interviewee would inevitably direct the response to thoughts on marriage,” says one of the staff for research company Know Anything Pty Ltd. “It was slightly disturbing because, after marriage, the responses showed an obsession with talking about the different aspects of marriage. One of our researchers who is currently engaged gave tips to one of the respondents on how best to start collecting for her Glory Box.”

The researchers said that the 80 males and females surveyed were well-behaved and polite, although 90 per cent kept looking at the door throughout the survey.

“Quite a few asked more than once if the responses were completely confidential. I think there was a certain amount of fear amongst respondents as to whether they would be identifiable,” a Know Anything staff member says.

A local Muslim spokesman, known only as Abdul (who stresses that it’s Abdul as in Madonna or Kylie), was consulted in assessing the survey results, however, he feels that there is nothing unusual about the interest in marriage. “It all seems pretty normal to me,” he says. “Islam tells us that getting married completes half your religion. They are definitely on the right track.”

However, the company says that they intend to run the survey again with different respondents, as they feel the results didn’t provide a truthful snapshot of the concerns of Muslim youth.

“There’s just no way that marriage would be the only thing on their minds, so much so that it supersedes fears about community perceptions of Muslims, how Muslims can contribute meaningfully to society, and the current climate of fear throughout the world,” one researcher says.

Know Anything says that they will structure their questions more carefully next time, while retaining their essence.

“I can see how some of the questions could have been twisted towards marriage, so we’ll just be a bit more cautious about the language we use in the next one. For example, “fears about the future” will need to be more specific so as to pinpoint fears about the current political climate, not marriage prospects.”