Cultural fascism: Protests in Dhaka as Yunus govt bows to Islamists on music

Bangladesh's interim administration of Muhammad Yunus, has come under fire for scrapping plans to recruit music and physical education teachers in primary schools. The decision by the Yunus administration came after Islamist groups, including Hefazat-e-Islam and Islami Andolon Bangladesh, called the job posts for music and physical education "un-Islamic" , and threatened street unrest if their demands for religious teachers over arts educators were not met.

Critics have called Yunus administration's U-turn a "cultural fascism", and demanded the reinstatement of the junked posts.

The original recruitment

Critics, however, see it as a clear bow to Islamist lobbying . The backlash was immediate.

Students and faculty from Dhaka University and Jagannath University staged vocal prot