Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan

Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan
Ҳизби Наҳзати Исломии Тоҷикистон
Chairman Muhiddin Kabiri
Deputy Chairman Sayidumara Husayn[1]
Founded 1990
Banned 2015
Membership (2015) 40,000 (claimed)
Ideology Islamic democracy
Islamism
Wahhabi-Salafism
Status Designated as a terrorist organization by the Republic of Tajikistan
Seats in the National Assembly
0 / 33
Seats in the Assembly of Representatives
0 / 63
Party flag

The Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRP or IRPT; Tajik: Ҳизби Наҳзати Исломии Тоҷикистон Hizbi Nahzati Islomii Tojikiston, Persian: حزب نهضت اسلامی تاجیکستان‎; also known as the Islamic Renaissance of Tajikistan, the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan, the Islamic Party of Revival, or simply the Islamic Renaissance Party) is a banned Islamist political party in Tajikistan. Until 2015, it was the only legal Islamist party in Central Asia.[2]

The group was founded in 1990. In 1992, the party hosted a conference in Saratov, Russia, attended by Islamists from ex-Soviet central Asia, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. When Tajikistan became independent, it was banned in 1993. It fought with the United Tajik Opposition and the Garmi people against the government during the Tajik Civil War but was legalised following peace accords in 1998. In 1999 it was the second largest party in Tajikistan.

The IRP's long-running leader, Said Abdullo Nuri, died in August 2006 of cancer. The party boycotted the 2006 presidential election.

At the legislative elections held 27 February and 13 March 2005 the party won 8% of the popular vote and 2 out of 63 seats.

At the elections held on 1 March 2015 the Party failed to surpass the 5% vote barrier, losing its only 2 seats in Parliament.

After a ban in 2015, Tajikistan designated the party as a terrorist organization.[3][4]

In an 15 August 2018 Washington Post story, regional expert Paul Stronski, a Senior Fellow in the Russia and Eurasia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said a 31 July 2018 attack on seven Western cyclists in Tajikistan is being blamed on members of the party even though ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.[5]Other news reports noted that the five attackers appeared in a video released by ISIS after the attack pledging allegiance to the group and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. [6]

Claims of state pressure

In April 2014, the party denounced official harassment and alleged government attempts to undermine their credibility and electoral chances, as parliamentary elections were scheduled in 2015.[7]

In the runup to the 1 March 2015 legislative elections, a wide-ranging government-induced campaign, to demonize the party and bar its candidates from entering the contest, was reported.[8]

On 28 August 2015, the government of Tajikistan demanded the party halt its "illegal activities" as it attempted to hold a party congress.[9] The party claimed that the government was attempting to close it down.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Масъули сомона. "Генпрокуратура не видит состава преступления в нападении на депутата С.Хусайни". www.nahzat.tj. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  2. ↑ "Mountain Rigger". The Economist. November 11, 2006.
  3. ↑ Michel, Casey (5 November 2015). "Trouble in Tajikistan: Analysts say the banning of a moderate Islamist party could unravel the country's post-civil war order". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  4. ↑ "Tajikistan human rights fears as banned party's ex-leaders jailed for life". The Guardian. Reuters. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  5. ↑ "Were the American cyclists killed in Tajikistan naive for traveling there?". Washington Post. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  6. ↑ "D.C. couple killed in ISIS-claimed attack were cycling around world". CBS News. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  7. ↑ "Tajikistan's Islamic Opposition Under Pressure". Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  8. ↑ Tajikistan’s Feeble Opposition Attacked Relentlessly Ahead of Weekend Vote - Edward Lemon, EurasiaNet, 26 February 2015
  9. ↑ Borisov, Akbar (28 August 2015). "Tajikistan's Islamic opposition party faces ban amid crackdown". Yahoo News. AFP. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  10. ↑ "The Demise Of Tajikistan's Islamic Party". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 8 September 2015.


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