Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s9.t3.4

v1.c7.s9.t3.4

In the spring of 1849, Ma returned to Kunming in Yunnan as a Hajji and became an Islamic scholar. He not only received much prestige and honour for his accomplishments, but also commanded great influence over Muslim Yunnanese as a high priest. Settled in the Linan district (a Ming dynasty Muslim settlement in Jianxian county) in south Yunnan, he preached to a large Muslim congregation at the local mosques and school. In the time when greater Han migration and the Qing’s ethnic policies had started to alienate Muslims, his strong religious orientation arising out of developments in Arabia began to politicise the populace.