SEVENTH CONGRESS OF THE ISLAMIC RENAISSANCE PARTY OF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 001422

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KISL KDEM TI
SUBJECT: SEVENTH CONGRESS OF THE ISLAMIC RENAISSANCE PARTY OF
TAJIKISTAN

DUSHANBE 00001422 001.2 OF 002



1. (SBU) Summary: During the Islamic Renaissance Party of
Tajikistan's Seventh Congress on 25 September 2007, the party's
delegates elected Chairman Muhiddin Kabiri to another four-year
term. Kabiri outlined his plans to continue modernizing the
party and to attract additional support from young people in
different parts of Tajikistan. He said recent government
crackdowns on religious practice have made the party more
popular in Tajikistan. Taking a cautious line, he expressed the
need to make concessions to the Government in some areas, but
also referred to the Government's recent actions as a form of
"secular extremism." End summary.




2. (SBU) PolOff attended the Islamic Renaissance Party's
Seventh Congress on 25 September 2007. 138 of the party's 178
delegates attended the meeting from various parts of Tajikistan,
including Dushanbe, Kulyob, Khujand, and Zarafshon. This
quadrennial meeting of the party's regular congress covered
three main issues: the Chairman's report on the activities of
the last four years; the Report of the Commission on Inspection;
and the election of the party's Presidium, or governing council.
Party delegates elected 49 members of the Presidium, including
two who are in prison: Mulloh Qosim Rahimov, and Shamsiddin
Shamsiddinov. The Presidium has been expanded to 49 members
from 42, reflecting the growth in membership in the party.
Party delegates also re-elected Kabiri as Chairman for another
four year term. [Note: Kabiri was elected Chairman in 2006 after
the death of the party's founder, and technical reasons
necessitated a vote at this party congress. End note]




3. (SBU) Kabiri divided his report into two periods. In the
first period, from 2003 - 2005, under the leadership of Said
Abdullohi Nuri, the party had to contend generally with
worldwide pressure on Islam and Islamic organizations in the
post-September 11th environment. In the second period, since
2006, the party has had to contend with increasing governmental
restrictions that Kabiri termed "secular extremism." He thanked
local embassy representatives in attendance for sponsoring
various kinds of exchange programs, adding that open
communication with these embassies has helped the party overcome
some of its image problems.




4. (SBU) Kabiri highlighted some party successes, including
participating in the 2005 Parliamentary elections and increasing
party membership. He mentioned that the party could count on
40,000 supporters, of whom 25,000 are actual members (only
12,000 carry membership cards). There are approximately 2,800
members in the Isfara area, and 1,500 in the village of Chorku
alone (both in the Sughd region). At the current time, the
party has representation in all but five districts and
settlements in Tajikistan.




5. (SBU) Kabiri stated that his main goal was to continue
modernizing the party. As membership in the party continues to
rise, he wants to focus more on the quality of its members. He
was proud of the fact that he kept the party united following
Nuri's death, and that the party enjoyed good cooperation with
the local government, embassies and international organizations
in Dushanbe. Kabiri attributed part of this success to his
ability to make concessions to local officials that served the
interests of the party. He did emphasize, however, that he
would make concessions only up to a certain point. He wants to
continue to build trust within the party, as well as within the
Government. He also outlined the party's desire to continue
working with the youth of Tajikistan. He said that he had
recently met with students in different parts of the country,
and he believed that the country's youth could be an important
constituency in the party.




6. (SBU) One of Kabiri's key points was that the Government has
ratcheted up its anti-Islamic campaign in Tajikistan, citing the
ban on wearing the hijab, the closing and demolishing of

DUSHANBE 00001422 002.2 OF 002


unregistered mosques, and the ban on women praying in mosques.
He criticized the portion of the draft law on religion which
bars a political party from having a religious affiliation as
being unconstitutional. He stated that the Government views the
party as a kind of disease, which if treated properly, would go
away. Kabiri termed the Government's increasingly authoritarian
actions as "secular extremism."




7. (SBU) Kabiri said that the threat of religious extremism in
Tajikistan is currently low, for which the Islamic Renaissance
Party can take credit. The party attracts individuals who are
opposed to the Government's restrictions and might otherwise
join extremist organizations. He said that the best way to
prevent religious extremism in Tajikistan was to protect human
and religious rights within the framework of the law. He argued
that if the Government continued to use excessively
authoritarian measures, the people would elect a new party to
power, as in Turkey. (As Kabiri finished this line, the
audience cheered, and many called out "Allahu Akhbar!" Kabiri
quickly took steps to quiet the crowd and tone down the
appearance of religious fervor in the presence of government
observers.)




8. (SBU) Atmospherics: An enormous picture of Nuri hung on the
main stage. Approximately 15 women attended the congress and
sat at the back of the auditorium (they all wore hijabs, and two
had their faces fully covered). The male delegates wore a mix
of business suits and traditional Tajik garb. Also in
attendance were the Iranian and Afghan Ambassadors;
representatives from the Turkish Embassy and the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe; other political parties,
including the Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan; Tajik
government officials, including representatives of the Ministry
of Justice, and local press. Kabiri sat on the stage, along
with Party Deputy Chairman Jalolidin Mansurov and Chief of the
Inspection Committee Muhammadali Faizmuhammad.




9. (SBU) PolOff met separately with Kabiri and senior party
officers in Dushanbe on 28 September 2007. Kabiri reiterated
the figure of 40,000 supporters, but it did not appear as though
the party has a particularly accurate means of assessing its
figures. He expanded on the party's strategy to court
Tajikistan's youth, remarking that he has received a large
number of invitations to speak at universities and other venues
outside of Dushanbe. Party officials also believe they have a
significant amount of support among migrant workers in Russia
and elsewhere, but have had difficulty coordinating party
activities abroad. Senior party members will begin traveling to
Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Kyrgyzstan to tap this support.
Kabiri spoke of the challenges the party could face if and when
the new law on religious organizations is passed. The law would
prevent political parties from having religious affiliations,
and the party would have to re-register under a different name.





10. (SBU) Comment: The Islamic Renaissance Party's support base
appears to be growing, and this is likely thanks to increasing
government restrictions on religious practice, and a
deteriorating economic situation on many parts of the country.
The party has been able to capitalize on the growing
disaffection of younger Tajiks. However, Kabiri did not outline
a concrete parliamentary platform, and it is unclear whether the
party can stand in serious opposition to government supporters.
The focus of the party is cultivating new members. Passage of
the law on religious organizations will be an important event
for the party. Government officials may not allow the party to
re-register. If the party can re-register by dropping its overt
religious affiliation, some party supporters may shift
allegiances to organizations that have stronger religious
affiliations, such as Hizb-ut-Tahrir. End comment.
HUSHEK