Cyprus: Thousands of Turkish Muslims rally against the Islamization of society and the lifting of the school hijab ban

Image: Jihad Watch

Thousands of Turkish Cypriots gathered in the northern part of Nicosia on Friday to protest the government's efforts to Islamize the country. This protest is part of an ongoing series organized by trade unions, who have raised alarms about the erosion of secularism under the right-wing government.

A key concern of the demonstrators is the introduction of Islam into the education system. Protesters displayed signs reading "It won’t pass" and "Cyprus will stay secular."

The protests began in April after Turkish-Cypriot authorities lifted a ban on wearing headscarves in high schools, a move swiftly condemned as an attack on the secular education system and seen as a step towards the eventual “Islamization” of Turkish Cypriot society.

Elma Eylem, president of the Teachers' Union KTOEÖS, described the rule change as a blatant act of "social engineering" and an attempt by Turkey's ruling AKP party to assert political Islam's dominance over the Turkish Cypriot community.

“This is not about freedom, headscarves, or regulations,” she said in an interview with Euronews. “It’s a move by the AKP to deepen political Islam's influence over the Turkish Cypriot community.”

(This Article was originally published by Jihad Watch)