The most influential of traditional religious brotherhoods is the Naqshbandi community, whose members include many prominent politicians including the late President Turgut Özal, former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, and the current Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan, all of whom belong to the İskenderpaşa community of the Naqshbandi brotherhood in Istanbul. This fact alone is surely sufficient enough to demonstrate the importance of understanding the teachings of that community. Şahin Alpay Columnist of Zam