The September issue of the conservative journal Marifet, a monthly science and culture publication by the Ismailaga religious order, published a searing cover story titled “Whose New Turkey Is It?” harshly criticizing senior members of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.

Ismailaga is one of the most eminent religious orders in Turkey, centered at the Ismailaga mosque in the heart of Istanbul. Belonging to a larger order of Naqshbandi, a major spiritual order of Sunni Islam, which has spread from China to the Balkans, Ismailaga stands as somewhat different from other religious orders in Turkey. Members of the order abide by a certain dress code. Men sport beards and wear caftans and baggy trousers in daily life and white turbans at prayer time, while women mostly wear a black hijab with a veil. Situated in the Carsamba quarters of the Fatih district, the order has established the most visible Islamic enclave in Istanbul. From toothpaste to prayer rugs, special products designed for the preferences of observant Muslims in this neighborhood are readily available.

The order is certainly not archaic, with adherents being active on social media, and having just established a TV channel and created a mobile application of the order’s Web page that can be downloaded from Google Play and the Apple Store.

Marifet's cover story was written by Muhammed Keskin, one of the order's influential leaders and a relative of Mahmud Ustaosmanoglu, the elderly sheikh of the establishment. This is the first time the order directly criticized the AKP elites in writing. It is seen as the harbinger of further discontent to be voiced from the most conservative sections in Turkey against the AKP. This calls for understanding the main argument of the piece and its immediate implications.