Islam and the State in Tajikistan: The Islamic Revival Party’s Secession from the Public Council

Abstract

One of the significant current discussions in Tajikistan is connected with the present suppression of Islam by the state. The adoption of a new law on the responsibility of parents, the return of students studying abroad, and the ban on children attending mosques could all be elaborated on as examples of state policy regarding this issue. In this regard, the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) is also faced with pressure by the government. The IRPT, which gained only 2 seats in the last parliamentary election of 2010, left the Public Council as boycott of the state in response to the above-mentioned government policies. The main issues addressed in this paper are: first, to consider the activities of Council, its pros and cons; second, to debate the reasons for the IRPT‘s secession and consequently its current relationship with the government. This work is mainly done through the analysis of this issue by considering articles, interviews, and primary source materials. The importance of choosing this issue might be explained by the fact it has not been investigated previously. Moreover, the relationship of the only legal Islamic Party with the government might be interesting to local as well as Central Asian studies scholars. The result of this study indicates that the IRPT is able to resist the government. However, the authorities are much stronger and can take any action necessary to prevail over the IRPT.