Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has triggered a fresh bout of tensions with Turkish Cyprus over a court ruling that flies in the face of his efforts to promote Islamic education among Turkish Cypriot youth, just as he has done in Turkey.

Under the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Turkey has seen a significant expansion of religious education, with Erdogan vowing to raise "devout generations." Yet his bid to extend his vision to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which only Ankara recognizes and props up, has met with resistance in a society that follows a very moderate understanding of Islam and is often described as one of the most secular in the Muslim world.

On April 15, the Turkish Cypriot constitutional court ruled that Quranic courses in the enclave cannot be organized outside the control of the Education Ministry, drawing ire and threats from Ankara, where the ruling reverberated as a ban on the courses.

The controversy stemmed from a 2017 legal amendment in northern Cyprus that created a Religious Affairs Commission, as part of an existing Religious Affairs Department. The commission was authorized to run Quranic courses, issue certificates, hold proficiency exams for religious officials and make appointments accordingly.