Shami-Damulla

Shami-Damulla was a nickname for Sa‘id ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahid ibn ‘Ali al-‘Asali al-Tarablusi al-Shami al-Dimashqi, an important figure in the development of Islamic fundamentalism in Soviet Central Asia. Among his followers was Ziyauddin Babakhan, the second mufti of the Spiritual Administration of the [Muslims of Central Asia and Kazakhstan].
Before settling in Central Asia in 1919, Shami-Domulla travelled to Iran, Afghanistan and Kashmir. Originally from Cairo, he was an Al-Azhar educated scholar. Shami-Domulla seems to have been influenced by the movement during the 15-20 years that he lived in Xinjiang; the Salafist movement was particularly influential in Xinjiang where it was a counter to Sufism. He moved to Tashkent in 1919 with the support of the Russian consul in Kashgar.