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<p>Western societies are divided over whether public expressions of Islam should be permitted in urban spaces. Some argue such displays prompt withdrawal among Muslim immigrants and undermine their sense of belonging, yet rigorous empirical testing remains limited. Given this empirical gap, this study provides a causal test of the effect of in situ exposure to embedded Islamic symbols on Muslim immigrants’ place-based integration. We conceptualize place integration as a proximal, cue-driven person–environment process, reflected in approach-oriented behavior and attitudinal–perceptual attachment to place. We then evaluate the effect of public Islam using naturalistic field experiments and original surveys with Muslim immigrants in Paris and London. Using a purpose-built augmented reality mobile app, our experiments tracked participants’ movement along identical urban routes, randomly assigning exposure to either Islamic symbols (treatment) or non-religious cues (control) (<i>N</i><sub>Paris</sub> = 151, <i>N</i><sub>London</sub> = 147). GPS-based behavioral data comprising walking pace, acceleration and brief remaining near the location, show that exposure to Islamic symbols increased approach-oriented behavior (<i>d</i><sub>Paris</sub> = 0.51, <i>d</i><sub>London</sub> = 0.63, <i>P</i> &lt; 0.05), accompanied by a parallel increase in self-reported place attachment. Corroborating survey evidence (<i>N</i><sub>Paris</sub> = 403, <i>N</i><sub>London</sub> = 400) further indicates that everyday visibility of Islamic symbols in one’s neighborhood is positively associated with place attachment. The patterns hold in both Paris and London, despite their contrasting approaches to religious visibility, indicating that the effect extends beyond a single policy context. These findings have implications for the governance of religious diversity in urban public spaces in the context of immigration.</p>

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Visible expressions of Islam in public space affect Muslim immigrants’ place integration

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月17日

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  • Pazit Ben-Nun Bloom,
  • Amit Birenboim,
  • Nonna Mayer,
  • Gizem Arikan

摘要

Western societies are divided over whether public expressions of Islam should be permitted in urban spaces. Some argue such displays prompt withdrawal among Muslim immigrants and undermine their sense of belonging, yet rigorous empirical testing remains limited. Given this empirical gap, this study provides a causal test of the effect of in situ exposure to embedded Islamic symbols on Muslim immigrants’ place-based integration. We conceptualize place integration as a proximal, cue-driven person–environment process, reflected in approach-oriented behavior and attitudinal–perceptual attachment to place. We then evaluate the effect of public Islam using naturalistic field experiments and original surveys with Muslim immigrants in Paris and London. Using a purpose-built augmented reality mobile app, our experiments tracked participants’ movement along identical urban routes, randomly assigning exposure to either Islamic symbols (treatment) or non-religious cues (control) (NParis = 151, NLondon = 147). GPS-based behavioral data comprising walking pace, acceleration and brief remaining near the location, show that exposure to Islamic symbols increased approach-oriented behavior (dParis = 0.51, dLondon = 0.63, P < 0.05), accompanied by a parallel increase in self-reported place attachment. Corroborating survey evidence (NParis = 403, NLondon = 400) further indicates that everyday visibility of Islamic symbols in one’s neighborhood is positively associated with place attachment. The patterns hold in both Paris and London, despite their contrasting approaches to religious visibility, indicating that the effect extends beyond a single policy context. These findings have implications for the governance of religious diversity in urban public spaces in the context of immigration.