DUSHANBE, September 5, 2014, Asia-Plus — The Islamic Revival Party (IRP) leader Muhiddin Kabiri yesterday met with senior representatives of the IRP department for sports and youth policy, according to IRP’s head office in Dushanbe.
Preparations for the 2015 parliamentary elections were a major topic of the meeting.
Speaking at the meeting, IRP leader reportedly touched upon the issue of preventing the spread of religious radicalism among the country’s youth.
“Our party must take efforts to prevent Tajik youth from joining extremist and terrorist organizations,” said Kabiri. “We should awaken the spirit of optimism in our youth, because disappointment urges youth to join extremist movements. The world, which has not yet got rid of Taliban and Al-Qaeda, has become witness of occurrence of new extremist movements in the Islamic world.”
IRP leader stressed that difficult political and socioeconomic situation in the Central Asian region can promote the appearance of extremist organizations.
“The Central Asian authorities analyze and forecast the future of the Central Asian region wrong; they struggle traditional Islam, and thereby, they pave the way for the appearance of radical movements in the region,” Kabiri said.
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 source, the 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. Current chairman of the IRP is Muhiddin Kabiri.
Women reportedly constitute more than 51 percent of the Islamic Revival Party members.
