After the publication of the ordered material by journalist Ilya Lazovsky entitled The Decline of the Islamic Renaissance of Tajikistan”, distributed on April 18, 2019 through the Russian website of the American Radio Ozodi (the Tajik service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), the theme of the pay-off nature of the terrorist-extremist otganization of the Islamic Renaissance Party (TEO IRP) and its connection with the international terrorist networks resurfaced in the media.

This western website, which has become almost a tribune of the renaissance members, on the substance of this publication, voiced a requiem on the occasion of the death of the TEO IRP. More precisely, it was the requiem of the owners of these websites, as well as the patrons and sponsors of the renaissance members in connection with the death of their notorious offspring. For, in fact, the collapse and disappearance of the TEO IRP from the historical arena for its eastern and western patrons became a tragedy, moreover their real political and geopolitical defeat. They hoped that it would be the hands of this bribing group that would carry out their plans and interests in Central Asia, including in Tajikistan, but with the "decline of Islamic renaissance” these plans came to naught. That is why the above article is written with such bitterness and regret...

But the author, who wanted to give the TEO IRP a historical rationale, and put it as a "liberal freedom-loving organization”, "different from the Ikhwan-al-muslimeen”, "supporter of a secular democratic state”, apparently carelessly messed up everything. In the article, he pointed out one report of the US intelligence agencies, which was published on December 31, 2001 in the New York Times, and noted that this document attracted the attention of the general reading public. The essence of the report lies in the fact that the US intelligence service in 1995 and 1996 sent several reports from Afghanistan, which spoke about the closeness and cooperation of the head of the TEO IRP Said Abdulloh Nuri with the leader of Al Qaeda terrorist organization, terrorist number one Osama Bin Laden.

These reports, in particular, state that, at the request of Osama Bin Laden, Nuri organized his meeting with the representatives of the Iranian intellegence services - the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps. At that time S. Nuri had a residence in an Afghan city Taliqan, and Bin Laden in an Afghan city Jalalabad. The main purpose of these meetings was to coordinate the capabilities of Al-Qaida and Iran against the United States. Thus, the author of the requiem of the renaissance, voluntarily or involuntarily, for the second time has opened an almost forgotten page of close links between the TEO IRP and terrorist organizations.

Of course, for those who are aware of the goals of the TEO IRP, it is not discovery, as the close relationship of this party with other international terrorist organizations is very well known and indisputable. Therefore, the mention of this indisputable fact was unprofitable for the renaissance members. Thus the fugitive renaissance activists have made a lot of efforts in recent years in order to cover the terrorist past of their terrorist organization with a veil of secrecy so that they can show themselves in a new face, namely supporters of a secular democratic state. In particular, the chairman of the TEO IRP tried to show himself as a freedom-loving liberal European personality, to gain confidence in European circles and, to receive as many Western grants as possible.

To this end, he went to political contrivances, and hiding the name of his party TEO IRP, declared himself as the chairman of the fictitious organization National Alliance of Tajikistan.

Therefore, a reminder to Western political circles of the terrorist nature of the TEO IRP and its links with ISIS, Al Qaeda, the Taliban and the Guard Corps confused all the maps of M. Kabiri. That is why the renaissance preachers were given the task to deny this point of view in the article at all costs and to disseminate numerous materials in the media and social networks to justify it.

And now that week renaissance preachers make a lot of efforts to prove their non-participation in international terrorist organizations on the basis of numerous facts. But as they say, you cannot hide an eel in a sack. It is well known that from the very beginning, the TEO IRP was organized by the efforts of foreign radical groups, and for all the time of its activity was an integral part of the international terrorist network, had a direct connection with all world terrorist organizations, received help and tasks from them, which is still ongoing. If the renaissance members forgot about this, it is enough to give a few examples of these links in order to refresh the memory of these liberal terrorists:

1. Links with "Ikhwan al Muslimeen”. The links of the TEO IRP with the "Ikhwan” international terrorist group have deep roots. In their memoirs, the founders of the TEO IRP with pride remind that, even during the Soviet years, they read the books of the ikhwani leaders Said Kutb and Muhammad Kutb in theier meetings and considered them their guide to action. This is evidenced by the interviews of S. Nuri, M. Himmatzoda, A. Sattorov, Z. Rozik and others.

The link of the renaissance members with the Ikhwan spies was discovered and prevented in the Soviet years. One of the renaissance activists, a resident of the village of Sebiston in the Dangara district, Mullo Ajik (Aliyev) in collaboration with the ikhwani student Zubayd Sodis from Sudan wanted to deliver a printing press to renaissance members in order to publish ideological and religious literature. After identifying this plan, in accordance with a note of protest from the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Sudanese Embassy, ​​this student was expelled from the university, generally from the Soviet Union.

In the period 1995-2002, the then chairman of the IRP M. Himmatzoda and the member of the IRP’s Supreme Council Mahmadsaid Ganiev (Mahmadsaid Rizoi) had close cooperation in Pakistan with the leadership of the Ikhwan al Muslimeen movement, the Islamic Society of Pakistan (especially his former leader Kozi Hussein Ahmad), also with sponsors of the organization "Ikhwan al muslimeen” from the states of Kuwait and Qatar, including Sheikh Dabus.

For several years of the Ikhwanians governence in Egypt, the chairman of the TEO IRP M. Kabiri once traveled to this country, participated in the Ikhwanians events and met with their leader M. Mursi. Kabiri called on the government of Tajikistan to recognize the Ikhwanian government. The links of the TEO IRP with runaway Ikhwanis in Europe continue to this day.

2. Links with Al Qaeda. The links of renaissance members with Al Qaeda terrorist organization have been and remain very strong. Al Qaeda was one of the main sponsors of IRP during renaissance migration to Afghanistan. Representatives of Al Qaeda had a permanent contact with the IRP office in Peshawar, where M. Himmatzoda was located, and later with representatives of the IRP in Kandahor and Jalalabad. In 1995-1997, the head of IRP Nuri more than once met with the head of Al Qaeda and received great financial and military assistance. Since Nuri did not sufficiently know Arabic, their talks were translated by Osama’s dari-speaaking interpreters, and therefore, thier contents did not remain secret.

One of the tasks of Nuri was to restore the network links between Al Qaeda and the Iranian Guard Corps. Although the New York Times did not disclose this theme fully, but Nuri eventually restored the link between Al Qaeda, the terrorist group Taliban and the Iranian special services. This link continues to this day, and some operations of these three organizations are conducted jointly.

3. Links with Taliban. The IRP also had close relations with the Taliban terrorist movement in Afghanistan. Meetings of the first leaders of the IRP with the leaders of the Taliban, including Mullah Umar, were held more than once. These meetings were most often held at the IRP office in Peshawar. In October 1996, Nuri, together with a delegation of the IRP leadership, while visiting Mullah Umar spent two days in Kandahor. Another evidence of the IRP’s link with Taliban is that after the Taliban captured the southern and central regions of Afghanistan, the IRp also acted in Kandahor, Jalalabad, Herat and Kabul. That is, the IRP officially recognized the Taliban Government and had its embassy in thier territory. IRP’s Ambassador to Taliban was the closest relative of Nuri and was codenamed Jaihun. He comes from the Yovon district, has not returned to Tajikistan, and apparently still is with the Taliban or hiding in Pakistan.

4. Links with the Caucasus Emirate organization. One of the main partners of the IRP was the terrorist movement of Chechens and Dagestanis called the Caucasus Emirate. Throughout its activities, the IRP maintained contact with well-known Chechen terrorists Shamil Basayev, Khattab, Umar Dokuev and others. Shamil Basayev and Khattab more than once arrived in northern Afghanistan and stayed with renaissance members for months. They carried out some operations together with the renaissance memebrs.

Under the leadership of an international terrorist Khattab, who is considered one of the commanders of Chechen radicals, in June 1993 renaissance fighters committed an armed attack in Afghanistan to the 12th Russian Frontier Outpost located in one of the localities of the Shamsiddin Shohin distict of the Khatlon region of Tajikistan, killing dozens of border guards.

On September 20, 1998, during the robbery of the home of the Hero of Labor Sayli Rahmonova in the Duvon village of Jirgatol district, there were also several foreign mercenaries among the renaissance members, including terrorists from Chechnya.

One of the closest relatives of Nuri Shamsiddin Saidov was a mediator of the IRP with Caucasian terrorists. In cooperation with Caucasian terrorist and criminal groups, he provided the shipment of money, weapons, drugs between Russia and Afghanistan. Saidov is currently in Europe and maintains close ties with the remnants of the Chechen terrorist movement.

5. Links with the Islamic Party of Afghanistan. The IRP’s links with one of the oldest terrorist groups, the Islamic Party of Afghanistan led by Gulbiddin Hikmatyor, also began a long time ago. Representatives of these two organizations established links in the late 1980s, and in 1990 two representatives of the Islamic Party of Afghanistan, Afghans, Abdurahim Valadi Khorkash and Davlatmand Valadi Rustam were detained in the Kulob region. It was found that they received instructions from the leadership of the Islamic Party of Afghanistan to organize subversive activities together with the Tajik renaissance members and carry out terrorist acts not only in Tajikistan, but throughout Central Asia. These persons were brought to justice by the judicial authorities after their confession.

IRP’s links with this radical anti-Tajik party continue today. In March 2017, a member of the Supreme Council of the TEO IRP Saidov met with representatives of the Islamic Party of Afghanistan in Hamburg, Germany. Representatives of this party are engaged in rice trade in large cities of Germany, especially Hamburg, and supply hundreds of thousands of tons of rice from Pakistan to Germany. Representatives of the Islamic Party of Afghanistan promised Saidov that they would provide financial assistance to IRP’s members.

There is evidence that the terrorist Islamic Party of Afghanistan train fighters from among the renaissance members in the northern regions of Afghanistan.

6. Links with Hamas. The TEO IRP has established close cooperation even with the terrorist organization Palestinian Hamas. Their links also began a long time ago, and Kabiri himself more than once met with the then head of Hamas Khaled Mashal, and with his help tried to find ways to the radical circles of the Arab world and Arab sponsors.

The links between TEO IRP and Hamas continue to this day. For example, on April 4, 2017, an active member of the TEO IRP Bobojon Qayumzod had a secrat meeting with one of the leaders of the Hamas terrorist organization Khaled Mashal in Istanbul.

7. Links with the Turkish radical parties. The IRP maintains close ties with the Turkish radical movement, whose activities are currently banned in Turkey. For example, during the preparation for the parliamentary elections in 2015 in Tajikistan, the leaders of the TEO IRP established close ties with the Saodat Islamic Party, and this party sent a group of advisers to organize a high-level IRP election campaign.

Recently, the IRP activists have re-established ties with radical Turkish organizations. The Press Secretary of the TEO IRP Faizrahmonov Mahmudjon has close friendly relations with one of the Turkish radical politicians Umar Foruq Korkmaz, and uses his capabilities to carry out his sabotage activities against the national and state interests of Tajikistan.

The TEO IRP receives financial and moral assistance from the Turkish organization Islamische Gemeinschaft Milli Görüş (Islamic society "National Thought”) in Germany. In 2012, this organization paid for the heart surgery of a member of the Supreme Council of the TEO IRP Mahmadsaid Ganiyev in Turkey. With funding of this organization, his sons Nuriddin Rizoi and Sirojiddin Ganiev studied at universities in Kuwait and Turkey.

The IRP had established close cooperation in Germany with the banned Turkish radical party Saodat. Despite the fact that the official authorities of Turkey expelled the followers of the TEO IRP from their territory, the renaissance members continue to cooperate with extremist organizations operating against Turkey.

8. Links with the Guard Corps. The IRP had and has the closest ties with the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an organization that has always engaged in terrorist activities and was eventually recognized as an international terrorist organization by a number of Western states, including the United States. The IRP’s cooperation with this corps has a long story. Therefore, we recall only a few specific facts:

- In the first years of independence, the Guard Corps established contacts with the TEO IRP and was the main adviser to the renaissance members during the organization of meetings and riots in 1991-1992 and their attempts to seize political power. This is evidenced by the testimony of eyewitnesses of that time, including Mawlawi Abdurahim Karimov, who were repeatedly published.

- The Guard Corps during the stay of renaissance members in Afghanistan supplied them with arms and money as well as trained them in subversive activities. During this period, about 1,500 renaissance members were trained in military camps in Iran and about 5,000 others were trained in 18 camps of the Corps in Afghanistan. This is evidenced by hundreds of facts, including the memoirs of the deputy head of the IRP A. Siyohakov.

- During the civil war, the Corps took under its full care Nuri and his family in Iran and Afghanistan, ensured his life, home and security. The family of Nuri still lives in Tehran and is provided by the Corps;

- The Corps, after reconcillation, also continued to provide political and material assistance to the TEO IRP to come to power. The testimony of IRP’s convicted, including Z. Rahmoni, V. Kosiddinov and others prove the hundred of such cases.

- The Corps after 2015, that is, after the TEO IRP was officially declared as a terrorist organization, continued its ties with this party. All expenses for accommodation of the IRP leadership in Iran and Europe, all business trips and events today are paid by the Corps. Currently, the Corps is training renaissance militants in the terrorist camps of Iraq, Mozanderan and Bamiyan, preparing them for organizing riots in Tajikistan. The testimony of the former leaders of this party Eshoni Kiyomiddin Gozi, Domullo Ayomiddin Sattorov and dozens of other renaissance members who returned from these camps, no longer leave any doubts about this...

9. Kinship of the TEO IRP with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Meanwhile, the links and relationship between the TEO IRP and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan can be traced more clearly, since the two terrorist organizations literally merged into a single whole. In other words, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan was born from the womb of the TEO IRP.

The links of these two terrorist organizations has a long history. As early as in the summer of 1992, 120 representatives of Islamic extremists from Uzbekistan led by Tohir Yuldoshev fought here at the state farm "Turkmenistan” of the Vakhsh district, where the TEO IRP was engaged in mass killings. Their headquarters was located in the mosque of the village of Andreev of the Vakhsh district of Tajikistan. It was here that the commander of the Uzbek extremists, Kholid, was assassinated, and renassaince members buried him with great honor in the Jirgatol district.

On the fronts of IRP in Tavildara district since the first days of the civil war in Tajikistan until 1997, one of the units of renaissance army was headed by the notorious international terrorist, a military commander of the Uzbek militants Juma Hojiev, known as Juma Namangani.

One of the shameful deeds of renaissance members was the fact that they offered to the foreign mercenaries and terrorists underage girls which they hardly collected in the villages and brought to the IRP headquarters. For example, renaissance members brought and gave to foreign mercenary Juma Namangani first in Gharm, then in Tavildara, and finally, in Yazgulam underage girls.  That yazgulami girl Juma Namangani took with him to Afghanistan and Pakistan. In turn, renaissance members without shame called "son-in-law” of this international terrorist who married the Tajik girl.

In 1994-1996, the leaders of the Uzbek terrorist groups Yuldoshev and Namangani were considered close friends of Nuri, Yuldoshev was in the renaissance residence in the city of Talikan Afghanistan.

With the increase of Uzbek militants, in the summer of 1998 a new terrorist organization Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan was created at a special ceremony in the village of Begi Siyo of Hoit of the Garm district by the instruction of Nuri. Thus, from the worm of the TEO IRP was born a new terrible terrorist movement Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

In 1999, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan forces entered from the Hoit side through the Zardolu pass, from the Tandikul side, into the Khojaachkan place in the Batken region and had an intention to go to the Sukhi district of the Fergana region of Uzbekistan. Fierce fighting continued for three months. But the Tajik governmental troops managed to drive the forces of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan from Hoit and Jirgitol to Vakhyo. Finally, by the efforts of the Tajik leadership from December 27 to December 31, 2001, the forces of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan from the Miyonadara area of Tavildara district were deployed to the city of Kunduz of Afghanistan, thereby freeing the region from a great threat.

10. Kinship of the TEO IRP with Ansarullah terrorist group. Ansarullah terrorist group, which today has assembled militants and terrorists in Afghanistan at the expense of the natives of Tajikistan, is actually one of the combat branches of the TEO IRP. When the TEO IRP was integrated into the peace process, it left part of the military forces in Afghanistan and appointed commander one of the renaissance leaders Amriddin Tabarov (nicknamed Mullo Amriddin). Mullo Amriddin's group, which later became known as Ansarullah, was engaged in Pakistan’s Waziristan for a long time, then on the territory of Afghanistan with terrorist activities. In recent years, the terrorists of this movement have been fighting in the Taliban and ISIL.

In 2009-2010, members of Ansarullah tried to create their bases in the Rasht Valley, but they were destroyed by government agencies and local people.

Thus, Ansarullah is armed with an experienced combat group of the TEO IRP, their close cooperation with Al Qaeda, the Taliban and ISIL is another proof of the cooperation and continuity of the TEO IRP with this international terrorist group.

11. Links with ISIL. IRP’s links with an international terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIL) is a great poem, since IRP has two kinds of inseparable ties with ISIL - spiritual-ideological and military-structural connection. If we compare the chronicle of the TEO IRP in Tajikistan with the horrific activities of ISIL in Iraq and Syria, we can find hundreds of points of contact between the unity of thinking and methods of the two organizations. If in recent years the whole world has shuddered at the atrocities of the terrorists and extremists of ISIL, then the crimes of the TEO IRP are in no way inferior to them. Actually, IRP is the same ISIL, and ISIL is the same IRP.

In 1992-2000, the renaissance member created their own "Islamic state” in the areas of the Rasht Valley, introduced their harsh regime, and in some cases surpassed ISIL in their cruelty. The criminal activity of the TEO IRP against civilians, scientist and cultural figures, creativity, women and children, the property of the population and the substructure of the government was not inferior to ISIL because of its atrocities.

But recent figures and facts have shown that the outfit with the same mind, there is close cooperation between the two organizations. For example, the customer of the terrorist act against foreign tourists was Nosirkhuja Ubaidov (Qori Nosir), an active member of the TEO IRP, currently in direct contact with ISIL in Afghanistan. Another active member of the TEO IRP, Hussein Abdusamadov, who was the head of the terrorist act against foreign tourists, traveled three times through Iran to Afghanistan for terrorist training in 2014-2017, and in the ranks of ISIL in Syria and in the ISIL camps in Achin of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan passed terrorist training. The weight of these facts: membership of the IRP, a triple trip through Iran to Afghanistan, three-time training in the camps of ISIL, living in the city of Hosh of Iran by renaissance customer of this operation is proof that the members of IRP - ISIL – the Guard Coprs - "one field of berries”. In general, in 2016-2019, dozens of facts and figures were obtained about the participation of IRP members in the ranks of ISIL and the integration of IRP members into the ISIL camps in Afghanistan, most of these silent fates have already become public.

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Despite the fact that the creation of the renaissance party and all their activities were developed and planned by special foreign services, along with this, during the civil war there were a lot of foreign mercenaries from international terrorist organizations in the ranks of TEO fighters. Reliable information proves that dozens of foreign mercenaries, among whom were Afghans, Pakistanis, Uzbeks, Russians, Americans, French and especially Arabs, were directly involved in the outrages of TEO militants in Tajikistan. These mercenaries, most of whom went through military school in Afghanistan and had vast experience in murder and robbery, unfortunately, with the assistance of the IRP, they realized their bloody craft against the population of Tajikistan. Therfore, the terrible crimes of TEO IRP militants in 1992-1998 in the areas of the Rasht Valley were committed on the orders of foreign mentors who had vast experience in this matter.

For example, on February 11, 1996, a caravan of military vehicles delivering food to military personnel in the Tavildara district was fired upon by the IRP fighters. This plan was implemented by an Afghan terrorist named Abdurauf, better known by the nickname Muallim. Muallim in the Kamarob gorge taught militants military tactics and methods of terrorist acts, such as guerrilla war in the mountains, a sudden attack, the manufacture of explosives and the establishment of mines.

In August 1994, a group of renaissance militants attacked military unit 06006 in the Childara area. The servicemen of the military unit fired back, killing about ten IRP militants. Among them were five Arabs and afroamericans. Renaissance members submerged their corpses on donkeys and left Childara.

On May 20 to October 30, 1994, foreign mercenaries took part in the attack on Tavildara district in the ranks of IRP. In the Foteh group were just 25 Arabs and Ethiopians.

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Now answer, what other terrorist organization remained, with which the TEO IRP would not have links and cooperation? In this regard, there is no doubt that the TEO IRP has a terrorist nature, that it is associated with international terrorist organizations and is an integral part of it. In such a situation, propaganda attempts by the IRP to hide the truth look not only shameless, but also naive. Attempts that are obviously useful for complacency, but can no longer serve to hide historical truth... In other words, the IRP is not only a terrorist and extremist organization, but it is an integral part of international terrorism and extremism. There is no doubt about it!

Firuz RAHMONIYON,

Jumhuriyat newspaper