DUSHANBE, March 17, 2015, Asia-Plus -- The Islamic Revival Party (IRP) leader will participate in two international conferences in Malaysia – Asian Forum for Peace and Development and International Islamic Unity Conference, according to IRP’s head office in Dushanbe.

“The Asian Forum for Peace and Development is taking place from March 17 to March 19 and the International Islamic Unity Conference will be held from March 20-22,” Mahmoudjon Fayzrahmon, a spokesman for the IRP, told Asia-Plus in an interview.

Presided over by Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the International Islamic Unity Conference will focus on issues related to the Palestinian crisis, Fayzrahmon added.

Yusuf al-Qaradawi is an Egyptian Islamic theologian, and chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars.  He is best known for his program, al-Shari’a wa al-Hayah (Shari’a and Life), broadcast on Al Jazeera, which has an estimated audience of 60 million worldwide.  He is also well known for IslamOnline, a popular website he helped found in 1997 and for which he now serves as chief religious scholar.

Founded in October 1990, the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan is the only Islamic party officially registered in former Soviet Central Asia.  The IRP was registered on December 4, 1991.  It was banned by the Supreme Court in June 1993 and legalized in August 1999.  Its official newspaper is Najot (Salvation).  According to some source, the IRP now has some 50,000 members.