Alwaght- Islamic Renaissance Party
of Tajikistan as the only political party with religious (Islamic) approaches
in Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries has always played a positive
role in maintaining cultural and political stability of the country. Announcement
of the results of the first phase of recently held parliamentary election
indicated that this party has not managed to enter the parliament. Hence, the
party leaders paid special attention to change of management process of the
party.
The charter of party based on Islam
and religious beliefs states:"In the light of God, following the example
of Prophet Muhammad and reliance on the wisdom of crowd, this party will try in
line with achieving an advanced, free and stable society with the priority of
law and social justice, democracy, meritocracy and human dignity and on the
basis of national and religious values and human rights."
This party played an important role
in establishing peace and stability and also in UN-supervised peace talks
during the Tajik civil war between 1992 and 1997. During the years after the
war, it has also made major contribution to maintaining stability and national
values of the country. Some prominent members of this party, in accordance with
the agreements after the civil war, were placed in important government
positions and despite all the pressures were involved in running the country.
Moreover, some members of this party have managed to enter the parliament in
the previous parliamentary elections, so that Muhiddin Kabiri, Chairman of the
Islamic Renaissance Party, and his deputy Seyyed Omar Husseini were elected as
members of parliament. Failure of this party in the latest parliamentary
election has placed it in a difficult situation. Hence, its high ranking
officials are determined to reform the existing procedures.
It should be mentioned that after announcement
of the results of recent parliamentary election, the party came under
criticism. Subsequently, with regard to Husseini’s suggestion based on transfer
of responsibility to the youth, Kabirir announced readiness to investigate the
performance of current leadership of the party in the near future and make the
required changes.
Muhiddin Kabiri who became the
leader of Islamic Renaissance Party after the
death of Abdullah Nuri in 2006, emphasizes on the Islamic ideology and believes
that pleasing to God and serving the nation should be the main goal of the
party. He attaches great importance to maintaining internal stability and believes
that unrest in the region, economic and social crises, increase in the
unemployment rate and devaluation of the national currency are the factors that
can cause problems to the country in the future.
Regarding the political behaviors of
the party in the recent years Islamic Renaissance Party's policy toward the
government and society has been effective and constructive.
Criticizing the existing procedures,
analysts believe that government’s approach toward the parties especially this
party has always resulted in security challenges and domestic problems because
the government institutions always try to prevent the experts and opposition
parties from entering the parliament. Hence, Islamic Renaissance Party is under
heavy political pressures. Nevertheless, the officials of this political group have
considered the failure in election as a new opportunity for reviewing issues of
the party and have called for closer cooperation between the members inside and
outside the country.
It is noteworthy that Husseini in a
letter to the interior minister of Tajikistan has expressed his complaint on
police inappropriate behavior with the members and arbitrary arrests of members
and supporters of the party in different cities as he called for the party
officials’ meeting with the interior minister. Meanwhile, according to a member
of the Islamic Renaissance Party, presence of a radical secular group in the
government of this country has caused increasing pressure on the party. He
believes that government’s violent encounter with the party after the
parliamentary election indicates statesmen’s fear from the political Islam and
independent clergymen.
Although the Tajik government denies
violence and pressure against the Islamic group, the programs of public television networks indicate that the radical
secular group not only attributes the cause of all the economic and social
problems of the country to the inefficiency of government but also to the
activity of Islamic Renaissance Party.
Husseini recommends that the
statesmen should take action to improve the economic situation and people's
livelihoods because continuation of this adverse situation will result in a
complex social situation.
