DUSHANBE, October 25, 2010, Asia-Plus — A fire that occurred at the headquarters of the Islamic Party (IRPT) last Saturday (October 23) destroyed a women’s prayer room, according to the IRPT headquarters in Dushanbe.
The cause of the fire is still unknown, the source said. “No injured was reported as the fire occurred in the afternoon and there were few people in the building that time,” the IRP source noted. “But the wing of the building, where the prayer room was located, has become useless.”
The IRP representative stressed that there were disagreements between the IRP and the Committee on Religious Affairs over the premises used as prayer room.
The Committee on Religious Affairs reportedly insisted that the IRP representatives must not offer prayers at the party headquarters because the country’s legislation prohibited from offering prayers in the offices.
According to the IRP representatives, local officials came to the headquarters on October 22, a day before the fire, and demanded that they must stop praying at the headquarters.
We will recall that Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reported on August 11 that prayer has been banned in the mosque at the IRP headquarters in Dushanbe, in a move that could pave the way for its closure.
Mavlon Mukhtorov, deputy head of the Tajik government”s Committee for Religious Affairs, told RFE/RL on August 10 that the mosque was not registered, and political parties should not have mosques. The IRP, however, denies this and says the ban is intended to prevent any future growth of support for the party.
The Masjidi Nahzatiho Mosque at IRP headquarters has functioned unimpeded for 10 years as a cultural center, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service said, noting that it can hold 2,000 worshippers.
According to RFE/RL’s Tajik Service, The IRP deputy head Saidumar Husseini, who is the party member of the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament), said that he met with members of the Committee on Religious Affairs and representatives of the Law Enforcement Directorate to discuss the issue, but failed to reach any agreement. He said the IRPT will not accept the committee”s decision to ban prayers in the mosque.
According to IRP representatives, this was the only mosque in Tajikistan that permits women to pray along with men.
