DUSHANBE, February 5, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- On Thursday February 4, Muhiddin Kabiri, leader of the Islamic Revival Party (IRPT), attended a ceremony of inauguration of a new mosque in the Roudaki district and 54 local residents were accepted to the party on sidelines of the mosque-inauguration ceremony, according to IRPT’s head office in Dushanbe.

Speaking at the mosque-opening ceremony, Kabiri noted that IRPT, which is the only Islamic party registered in the Central Asian region, acts within the framework of the country’s legislation.

“Every month, from 700 to 1,000 people are joining our party and the number of the IRPT members has increased from 20,000 in 2005 to 40,000,” said Kabiri, “There is an opinion in society that major part of the IRPT members is semi-literate people but it is not right.  Many young people having higher education have joined our party in recent years.  In the Sughd province, for instance, three persons having scientific degree of candidate of sciences joined the party last December.”     

IRPT was founded in 1990.  The party won seats in the 2000 (two seats) and 2005 (two seats) parliamentary elections.  Both in the 2000 and in the 2005 elections the IRPT members came to the parliament from the party list.