Identity and Power—The Discursive Transformation of the Former Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan

Abstract

The former Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) underwent a political transformation from an Islamist organization, partly responsible for armed mobilizations during the Civil War in Tajikistan (1992–1997), to a moderate and arguably democratic party from the early 2000s until 2015. The party defined and redefined its identity to fit both Islamic and secular democratic narratives. This research traced the evolution of the IRPT’s identity in light of critical events such as the change in leadership in 2006, and the Arab Spring. A discourse analysis of the IRPT’s main communication channel, Najot, from 2008 to 2015 has been conducted, which found three themes where strong articulations about identity were made: secularism, the Civil War, and the Islamic World. First, they challenged the core legislation regulating the triangular relationship of state, society, and religion; they justified political Islam; and they criticized what they called “secular extremism.” Second, the party produced a counter-narrative of Civil War actors and actions to that of the state. Third, they expressed solidarity with legal and controversial Islamic parties elsewhere, such as the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, or the Palestinian Hamas. This paper has found that the IRPT’s ideological transformation was limited due to the remaining Islamist elements in their discourse and the lack of clarity on the compatibility between Islamic and secular democratic programs.