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The Mosque Next Door: How the Visibility of Mosques Influences Support for the Far-Right and Anti-Immigration Policies.

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Title: The Mosque Next Door: How the Visibility of Mosques Influences Support for the Far-Right and Anti-Immigration Policies.
Authors: Valli, Chiara (AUTHOR), Gravelle, Timothy B. (AUTHOR), Nai, Alessandro (AUTHOR), Medeiros, Mike (AUTHOR), Murri, Céline (AUTHOR), Eugster, Beatrice (AUTHOR)
Source: Political Behavior. Mar2026, Vol. 48 Issue 1, p25-48. 24p.
Subjects: Mosques, Immigration policy, Political geography, Voting research, Muslim identity, Minorities, Right & left (Political science)
Geographic Terms: Switzerland
Abstract: As racial-ethnic and religious minorities have grown in Western societies, so too has the electoral success of nativist and far-right political parties. These parties commonly mobilize against Muslim minority groups, often targeting Islamic symbols such as mosques. This raises a key question: does the presence of mosques in local communities influence citizens' vote choice? To answer this question, we analyze aggregate voting patterns in Swiss municipalities between 2007 and 2023. This includes data on voting returns from five elections and six anti-immigration popular initiatives. We augment these data with original spatial data that locates mosques in Switzerland, categorizing them as either a visible or non-visible feature of the built environment. Using coarsened exact matching (CEM), we estimate the causal effect of prominent, visible mosques on citizens' voting patterns. Results indicate that a visible mosque in a municipality increases support for the far-right by approximately 3% points across elections. Similarly, a visible mosque increases support for popular initiatives targeting Muslims and other migrants by 3–5% points. By contrast, non-visible mosques have no significant effects on voting in popular initiatives or far-right party support. These findings highlight how politically salient features of the built environment shape voting patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Political Behavior is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: The Mosque Next Door: How the Visibility of Mosques Influences Support for the Far-Right and Anti-Immigration Policies.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mosques%22">Mosques</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Immigration+policy%22">Immigration policy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Political+geography%22">Political geography</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Voting+research%22">Voting research</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Muslim+identity%22">Muslim identity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Minorities%22">Minorities</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Right+%26+left+%28Political+science%29%22">Right & left (Political science)</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Switzerland%22">Switzerland</searchLink>
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  Data: As racial-ethnic and religious minorities have grown in Western societies, so too has the electoral success of nativist and far-right political parties. These parties commonly mobilize against Muslim minority groups, often targeting Islamic symbols such as mosques. This raises a key question: does the presence of mosques in local communities influence citizens' vote choice? To answer this question, we analyze aggregate voting patterns in Swiss municipalities between 2007 and 2023. This includes data on voting returns from five elections and six anti-immigration popular initiatives. We augment these data with original spatial data that locates mosques in Switzerland, categorizing them as either a visible or non-visible feature of the built environment. Using coarsened exact matching (CEM), we estimate the causal effect of prominent, visible mosques on citizens' voting patterns. Results indicate that a visible mosque in a municipality increases support for the far-right by approximately 3% points across elections. Similarly, a visible mosque increases support for popular initiatives targeting Muslims and other migrants by 3–5% points. By contrast, non-visible mosques have no significant effects on voting in popular initiatives or far-right party support. These findings highlight how politically salient features of the built environment shape voting patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Political Behavior is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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              Text: Mar2026
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