Jaffer is a PhD candidate at the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, King’s College London. His research explores how Shi’a Muslims in Britain form, express, and manifest their religious identity. He has also worked with the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, on a project called CREID, where he produced several publications on the intersectional marginalisation and freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in South Asia. Jaffer has more than 8 years of experience in working with civil society organisations on peacebuilding, counter-extremism, and religious freedom in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.

Jaffer is also a Research Assistant at the SCORE Religion & Peacebuilding project of the Department of War Studies, King's College London.

Publications

• Tadros, M., Mirza, J. A., Kanwer, M. (2021). The Politics of Religiously Prejudiced and Exclusionary Covid-19 Responses, IDS Bulletin, vol 52. https://doi.org/10.19088/1968-2021.111
• Mirza, J. A., Shoaib, A. (2023). Lessons learned using participatory methodologies in exploring intersectional marginalisation of religious and sectarian minorities in Pakistan in Using Participatory Methods to Explore Freedom of Religion and Belief: Whose Reality Counts? edited by Jo Howard and Mariz Tadros, Bristol University Press. https://doi.org/10.51952/9781529229295.ch011
• Mirza, J. A., Kanwer, M. (2023). Using participatory research methodology to understanding daily experiences of religiously marginalised communities: A case study of Christians in Joseph Colony (Lahore) and Rimsha Colony (Islamabad) and Shi’as in Balti Basti (Karachi) in Using Participatory Methods to Explore Freedom of Religion and Belief: Whose Reality Counts? edited by Jo Howard and Mariz Tadros, Bristol University Press. https://doi.org/10.51952/9781529229295.ch012
• Eggert, J., Kanwer, M., Mirza, J. A., Wilkinson, O. (2022). Responsiveness to religious inequalities in contexts of displacement: Evidence from providers of humanitarian assistance to Shia Hazara refugees from Afghanistan in Pakistan, CREID. https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/17563
• Mirza, J.A., Kanwer, M., Sultan, S. (2020). The Multi-Layered Minority: Exploring the Intersection of Gender, Class, and Religious-Ethnic Affiliation in the Marginalisation of Hazara Women in Tadros, M. Violence and Discrimination against Women of Religious Minority Backgrounds in Pakistan, CREID Intersections Series, Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies. https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/15870
• Mirza, J. A. (2021) Pakistan’s Shias Face Double Threat: Extremists and Their Own Government, The Diplomat.
• Mirza, J. A. (2020). The Changing Landscape of Anti-Shia Politics in Pakistan, The Diplomat.