The high-profile funeral of a leader of an influential religious order shows how religious groups have flourished under the rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), exposing deepening faults between the Turkish public secular and Islamist segments.

Mahmut Ustaosmanoglu, a sheik and longtime leader of Turkey’s influential Ismailaga order, died on June 23 at the age of 93. Tens of thousands flocked to his funeral service held on June 24 in Istanbul, including Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu and several other ministers.

According to Mehmet Akif Koc, a researcher and a PhD candidate on Middle Eastern studies, the high profile funeral was an indication of how religious groups have gained prominence under the AKP, which came to power in 2001.

“Since the 2000s, [the religious orders] have gained an important central power in Turkish politics together with the AKP government,” Koc told Al-Monitor, stressing that religious orders are not a new phenomenon, as their clout over society harkens to the Ottoman era.