DUSHANBE, April 3, 2015, Asia-Plus — A call for the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan (IRP) to be branded a terrorist organization has been made at a conference in Dushanbe.
Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reports Rahim Karimov, a professor at Dushanbe”s Islamic University, urged young Tajiks on April 2 to start an initiative calling for the IRP to be listed as a terrorist organization and shut down.
Karimov”s call was made at a conference promoting cooperation with law enforcement officials in battling Islamic extremism.
The IRP is the only Islamic party officially registered in post-Soviet Central Asia.
Karimov”s call came six days after imams at mosques across Tajikistan called on worshippers to demand a referendum be held on the IRP’s closure.
The imams” action followed President Emomali Rahmon publicly urging the country”s intellectuals to outline a concept for the nation”s development through 2050 that establishes a “democratic and secular country based on the rule of law.”
The IRP failed to gain a seat in parliament in March 1 elections marred by fraud allegations.
