One Family, Many Languages: Animated Characters for Qurbani and Waqf Education in Western Muslim Communities. The Awqaf Animal Family as a Case Study

This working paper proposes the Awqaf Animal Family, a cast of 36 animated animal characters, each linked to a country, its environment and a value, as one recognisable identity for Qurbani and waqf education in Muslim communities in Western countries. Qurbani and awqaf are long-established faith-based practices; Awqaf New Zealand does not seek to compete with them, but to help both be used more efficiently. The paper reviews research on learning from animation and recurring characters, including a finding that cautions against assuming animal stories change children’s behaviour. It sets out prior work in Qurbani and waqf animation and identifies the combination it proposes to test. It also covers Islamic perspectives on images and music, an ethics and political-neutrality rule, a 2027 Qurbani campaign with partner waqf bodies, six research hypotheses, safeguards for children’s content, privacy and intellectual property, and a phased implementation plan. Appendix A shows all 36 characters. The Arabic edition adds, as Appendix B, thirteen Shariah questions put to the Islamic Economy Forum for open scholarly consultation. Status: a strategic working paper for discussion, testing and independent review. It is not peer reviewed, and it is not a fatwa, a legal opinion, an offer document or an invitation to participate financially. Claims of effectiveness are hypotheses to be tested. No waqf unit is offered in any jurisdiction. Two editions are deposited: the English original and a full Arabic translation, each as a PDF (A4).