DUSHANBE, May 26, 2015, Asia-Plus -- Muhiddin Kabiri, the leader of the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan (IRP), is currently in Switzerland to attend an international conference on problems of counteraction to extremism in Middle East, IRP deputy leader, Mahmadali Hayit, told Asia-Plus today.

“The second leg of his tour of Europe will be Germany, where he will hold a meeting at Germany’s MFA in Berlin and will meet with representatives of Tajik Diaspora in Dortmund,” Hayit said.

According to him, IRP leader will also visit Brussels, where he will hold meetings with representatives of the European Union to discuss the Central Asian issues.    

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.  

Parliamentary elections took place in Tajikistan on March 1 and for the first time since Tajikistan gained independence in the 1991 Soviet collapse, the Islamic Revival Party failed to clear the five-percent threshold needed to win parliamentary seats.