DUSHANBE, August 28, Asia-Plus -- The Islamic Revival Party (IRPT) intends to hold its next congress in Dushanbe on September 25, 2007, Asia-Plus has learned from Hikmatullo Sayfullozoda, a spokesman for the party.  

According to him, a decision on convoking the congress was made at the last session of the party’s Political Council that was held last Saturday. 

“The key issue of the congress will be election of a new membership of the Political Council, which is reshuffled every four years,” the spokesman said, adding that it cannot be ruled out that the council’s membership will be extended.  

The congress delegates are also supposed to discuss issues related to ban on wearing Islamic headscarves or hejabs in schools and universities, pulling down mosques, ban on spread of audio and video cassettes with speeches of influential clerics in the country.  

The previous, extraordinary congress of the IRPT was held on September 2, 2006.  That congress elected Muhiddin Kabiri as leader of the party.   

According to the party itself, founded in October 1990, the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan now has some 25,000 members.  

It was registered with Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on December 4, 1991.  In June 1993, it was banned by the Supreme Court and was legalized in August 1999.  The Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan is the only Islamic party registered in CIS Central Asia.