The Naqshbandi order, founded by Baha ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari (1318–1389 AD) in Bukhara (modern Uzbekistan), is one of the most influential Sufi orders in the world, particularly in Central Asia, Turkey, the Caucasus, and South Asia. The Naqshbandi order is distinctive for its ‘silent dhikr’ (remembrance of God performed internally rather than vocally), its emphasis on strict adherence to sharia, its close engagement with political power (Naqshbandi sheikhs were advisors to Ottoman sultans and Central Asian khans), and its claim to a chain of transmission going back through Abu Bakr (the first Caliph) rather than through Ali (as most other orders claim). In the 20th century, the Naqshbandi order played significant roles in Central Asian resistance to Soviet atheism and in the Kurdish nationalist movement.