Thousands of Turkish Cypriots took to the streets in the northern half of Nicosia on Friday to protest against attempts by the government to make the country more Islamic. The protest was the latest in a series of demonstrations organised by trade unions, who have expressed concerns about the erosion of secularism by the right wing government.

In particular, protest organisers are worried about the introduction of Islam into the education system. Demonstrators held up placards saying “It won’t pass” and “Cyprus will stay secular”.

The protests began in April after Turkish-Cypriot authorities scrapped a ban on the wearing of headscarves in high schools.

The move was swiftly condemned as an encroachment into the strictly secular education system aimed at the eventual “Islamisation” of Turkish Cypriot society.

Elma Eylem, president of the Teachers’ Union KTOEÖS, said the rule change was a blatant attempt at “social engineering” and at asserting the dominance of political Islam over the country by Turkey.

“This issue is not a matter of freedom, headscarf or regulation,” she told Euronews.

“This issue is a step taken by the AKP (Turkey’s ruling party) in its efforts to deepen the political Islam domination over the Turkish Cypriot Community.”

The union boss said her organisation had initiated a legal challenge to the edict at the Constitutional Court and expected a “long-term struggle”.

The protest came shortly before a visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the island on Saturday.

The Turkish President inaugurated a complex of government buildings in the Turkish part of the island.

He criticised the protesters, warning them against creating divisions in society and inciting hatred.

“Those who try to disrupt our brotherhood, to create a rift between us, and to sow the seeds of hatred will not be successful,” he vowed.

Later, as he addressed a technology festival, he went further, telling trade unions that he opposed the measure: “If you try to mess with our girls’ headscarves in the Turkish republic of northern Cyprus, I am sorry, you will find us against you.”

Friday’s demonstration was organised by more than 100 trade unions and civil societies many of which still advocate the island’s reunification as a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation.