Modern Muslim communities in Turkey, the jamaats, fastened by a particular ideology and a leader (not necessarily living now), have played and still play a significant role in the socio‑political life. They affect the views of a significant part of the population, create efficient institutions of civil society, interfere in politics, and are actively involved in the economy. This paper examines the economic life of the jamaats in the 1950—2000s when a combination of various factors — the policy towards Islam by the founders of the Republic, then economic liberalization in the 1950s and the 1980s, and a growing urbanization — led eventually to a new flourishing of the jamaats. The jamaats’ strong ideological foundation is Sufism, and we can see how the traditional model of tariqas was adapted to the modern society and the liberal economy. The article is based, in particular, on primary sources — interviews, observations, texts, sociological surveys — collected during the author’s fieldwork in 2013–2014.