Multicultural Quality of Life: experiences of a South Australian Muslim community amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Muslims have a strong sense of obligation in which Islam informs their ways of life. As a religious minority within Australia, these obligatory practices may not be well understood by mainstream policy, health, and welfare services. This mixed-method, cross-sectional study assessed the self-reported quality of life (QoL), worldviews, and subjective experiences of religiosity and/or cultural identity of adults from a Muslim community affiliated with the Adelaide Mosque, metropolitan South Australia. Data were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic using the Multicultural Quality of Life Index (MQLI) and focus group discussions. Survey results (n = 98) showed women had lower MQLI scores than men did, and married participants had better MQLI scores than not-married did. Focus group participants (n = 18) reported feeling overwhelmed and isolated due to social distancing requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic, compounded by a lack of available 'Muslim-friendly' social support services. While results do not represent all Muslim perspectives in Australia, they reveal a dialogic interchange between gender and matrimonial differences, and cultural variances that may exist in the concept of wellbeing. Greater opportunities for social support integrating Muslim religiosity and culture in multicultural practice, in discrete and mainstream services, would benefit this South Australian community. Muslim memiliki rasa kewajiban yang kuat di mana Islam menginformasikan cara hidup mereka. Sebagai minoritas agama di Australia, praktik wajib ini mungkin tidak dipahami dengan baik oleh layanan kebijakan, kesehatan, dan kesejahteraan arus utama. Metode campuran, studi cross-sectional ini menilai kualitas hidup (QoL) yang dilaporkan sendiri, pandangan dunia, dan pengalaman subjektif dari religiusitas dan/atau identitas budaya orang dewasa dari komunitas Muslim yang berafiliasi dengan Masjid Adelaide, metropolitan Australia Selatan. Data dikumpulkan selama pandemi COVID-19 menggunakan Multicultural Quality of Life Index (MQLI) dan diskusi kelompok terfokus. Hasil survei (n = 98) menunjukkan wanita memiliki skor MQLI lebih rendah daripada pria, dan peserta yang menikah memiliki skor MQLI lebih baik daripada yang tidak menikah. Peserta kelompok fokus (n = 18) melaporkan merasa kewalahan dan terisolasi karena persyaratan jarak sosial selama pandemi COVID-19, ditambah dengan kurangnya layanan dukungan sosial 'ramah Muslim' yang tersedia. Meskipun hasilnya tidak mewakili semua perspektif Muslim di Australia, hasil ini mengungkapkan pertukaran dialogis antara perbedaan gender dan matrimonial, dan variasi budaya yang mungkin ada dalam konsep kesejahteraan. Peluang yang lebih besar untuk dukungan sosial yang mengintegrasikan religiositas dan budaya Muslim dalam praktik multikultural, dalam layanan terpisah dan arus utama, akan menguntungkan komunitas Australia Selatan ini.