2025 Research Excellence Award for Social Sciences: Understanding women’s experiences of conversion to Islam in Aotearoa
Dr Ayca Arkilic, of Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, has won the Early Career Research Excellence Award for Social Sciences for her research on women who converted to Islam after the 2019 Christchurch mosque attack.
In the context of increasing conversions to Islam in Aotearoa, especially after the attack, Ayca’s nationwide ethnographic fieldwork has focused on the experiences of Māori and Pākehā Muslim converts from an interdisciplinary political science perspective. Her most recent output from this project specifically looks at women’s experiences.
She has investigated how and why women have converted to Islam, and with what consequences for their citizenships, identities, and everyday challenges. Her research has found that Māori women who have converted feel more vulnerable than others, and report having their identities and belonging questioned more frequently.
Ayca’s work also covers the effects on national identity, social cohesion, and demographics for Aotearoa. She has already achieved international recognition through her many publications and advisory services to governments and other organisations. She also excels in teaching, mentoring, and community engagement.
Ayca says although her background is in political science and her expertise is in migration, she has always had a wider interest in religion, politics, and society.
“My interest in Islam in the West began when I went to the Netherlands as an exchange student in my early 20s and interacted with the local Muslim communities there.”
“I was fascinated by how they negotiate and navigate their multiple loyalties, identities, and sense of belonging.”
Born and raised in Turkey, Ayca continued her studies in Europe and the United States of America before migrating to Aotearoa.
She explains that after publishing her first book on the Turkish Muslim diaspora in France and Germany, she wanted to embark on a new project.
Ayca says she came across a short newspaper article on the growing numbers of Māori Muslims and realised that no one had researched what conversion to Islam in Aotearoa might mean for national identity and demographics.
She says she was encouraged by the suggestion of her project’s cultural advisor, Noeleen van de Lisdonk, a Māori Muslim and a well-known community leader, to give voice to women converts.
Ayca says Noeleen has played a key role in this research with her expertise in research in Māori conversion to Islam and tikanga Māori.
“Most previous research on this topic has taken an anthropological or religious studies base and paid scant attention to the broader sociopolitical effects of individual conversions and their implications for state–society relations. In fact, the only extensive academic work on Islamic conversion in Aotearoa is a BA Honours thesis written by Ruqayya Sulaiman-Hill back in 2001.”
“One of the highlights of my fieldwork was attending the three-day Noho Tāhi – Coming Together hui at Ngāti Ōtara Marae in Auckland in September 2024. This was the first large-scale Māori Muslim gathering in the country, attracting 150 registrations.”
“Some of my interviews there lasted four hours, as many women converts told me that it was the first time someone wanted to hear them. Given that some Muslim converts come from rough backgrounds, those conversations were heavy, but long-term trust-building with the community, and my mentors' support and assistance, allowed me to overcome these challenges.”
Ayca says she is humbled to receive the award and thanks the Society for the recognition.
She is grateful for the Marsden Fast-Start Grant and a Strategic Research Grant from her University that funded her multi-year fieldwork.
“I am indebted to women converts all around Aotearoa for trusting me and sharing their stories.”
Ayca says she would also like to thank her PhD supervisors in the USA, her mentors at Victoria University of Wellington, and her husband, Guy Dubuis, for encouraging her research.
“Even though he’s an experimental physicist, Guy always gives me the best social science research ideas and the time and headspace to pursue my work. I feel fortunate to be surrounded by a very loving and nourishing support network.”
Early Career Research Excellence Award for Social Sciences:
This award recognises emerging researchers who have demonstrated exceptional promise in the social sciences.
Citation:
To Ayca Arkilic for elevating the voices of women converts to Islam in post-Christchurch Aotearoa and exploring their citizenship, belonging, and everyday challenges through nationwide ethnographic fieldwork.