DUSHANBE, May 31, 2013, Asia-Plus – The Islamic Revival Party (IRP) Academy has temporarily suspended its activities after it has received an official letter from the Ministry of Justice.
“The letter, in particular, notes that the IRP does not have the right to have Academy,” the IRP Academy head Zubaydulloh Roziq told Asia-Plus in an interview.
“We have temporarily suspended our activities, but the IRP Political Council will make the final decision on this issue,” said Roziq. “The IRP Political Council that is expected to meet in a couple of months will decide whether the Academy will be closed or it will continue its work.”
Meanwhile, the IRP Political Council member Hikmatullo Sayfullzoda says there was no question of closure of the Academy in the letter of the Ministry of Justice, and therefore, the IRP Academy is functioning as before.
We will recall that in its official letter to the IRP board, the Minister of Justice noted that the party does not have the right to have an educational institution such as the Academy of the IRP.
Some members of the Islamic Revival Party consider that the order to close the IRP Academy is connected with the fact that the Academy representatives are giving fatwas from time to time despite the fact that the Committee on Religious Affairs and the Islamic Center have repeatedly stressed that only the Shuroi Ulamo (Council of Ulamo) is authorized to issue fatwas.
A fatwa in the Islamic faith is the technical term for the legal judgment or learned interpretation that a qualified jurist or mufti can give on issues pertaining to the Islamic law.
The IRP Academy was established two years ago and it regularly conducts training seminars. The Academy has its section on IRP’s website, where the Academy representatives answer questions pertaining to religion.
Founded in October 1990, the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan 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.
