DUSHANBE, April 28, 2013, Asia-Plus — On Saturday April 27, the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan (IRP) held a conference dedicated to its 40th anniversary.
The event that took place at IRP’s headquarters in Dushanbe reportedly brought together IRP delegates from all regions of the country as well guests from Tajikistan and some other countries.
“The current government of Tajikistan is not interested in using potentials of the opposition political parties of the country, including the IRP, for development of democracy and pluralism in Tajik society,” prominent Tajik religious leader and politician, Hoji Akbar Turajonzoda, told Asia-Plus in an interview.
“Potentials of the opposition political parties are used only in the countries without authoritarian inclinations that observe principles of democracy and hold free and transparent elections,” said Turajonzoda. “Tajikistan, unfortunately, does not have such features.”
He further stressed that the current government and the IRP share common goals – “development and wellbeing of the country, but their approaches are different.”
Mr. Geydar Jemal, the founder and chairman of the Islamic Committee of Tajikistan, said, “The Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan may be proud of the fact that its members have come out for protection of Islamic values since the Soviet times.”
Religiosity embodies the meaning of life in all societies while secularism is a void, Mr. Jemal noted.
Suhrob Sharipov, who represents the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Tajikistan’s lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of parliament, noted that the IRP was one of important entities of the political life in Tajikistan.
“Under the realities of today’s Tajikistan, all political parties of the country share common positions on protection of national interests,” Sharipov stressed.
According to the IRP representatives, some 200 foreign guests have been invited to attend the jubilee conference and 170 of them have confirmed their participation in the IRP event, but because of the visa issuance problems only 30 percent of them have been able to arrive in Dushanbe.
Although the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan has celebrated its 40th anniversary, it is considered that it was officially founded in October 1990. The IRP was registered on December 4, 1991. It was banned by the Supreme Court in June 1993 and legalized in August 1999. Its official newspaper is
Najot
(Salvation). According to some sources, IRP now has some 50,000 members. It won two seats in the 2010 parliamentary elections. The Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan is the only Islamic party registered in CIS Central Asia.
