history in China. In addition, let us reinforce our unity and participate in the twice more difficult task of supporting a defensive war and promoting religion.... We hope that ahongs [imams] and the elite will initiate a movement of prayer during Ramadan and implement group prayer to support our intimate feeling toward Islam. A sincere unity of Muslims should be developed to contribute power towards the expulsion of Japan. The saying "patriotism is part of iman [faith]" was quoted by Chinese Muslims like Ma Hongdao during the war against Japan. He believed that the Hui were not an ethnic minority but only a religious minority and supported Chinese nationalism without ethnic divisions, and the idea of Zhonghua minzu (Chinese nation) against domestic and foreign imperialist enemies. He took his ideas on nationalism from Turkists like Gökalp. The Sufi scholar Zhang Chengzhi noted that during the war, Hui Muslims were suspicious of the intentions of Japanese researchers and deliberately concealed important religious information from them when they were interviewed. During the war against Japan, the Imams supported Muslim resistance in battle, called for Muslims to participate in the jihad against Japan, and becoming shahids (martyrs). Later in the war, Ma Bufang sent cavalry divisions led by General Ma Biao that were composed of Hui, Dongxiang Mongols, and Salars, all of whom were Muslim, as well as Han and Tibetans (Buddhists), to fight Japan. Ma Hongkui seized the city of Dingyuanying in Suiyuan and arrested the Mongol prince Darijaya (Wade-Giles: Ta Wang) in 1938, because Doihara Kenji, a Japanese officer of the Kwantung Army, had visited the prince. Darijaya was exiled to Lanzhou until 1944. At the Battle of Wuyuan, the Hui Muslim cavalry, led by Ma Hongbin and Ma Buqing, defeated the Japanese troops. Ma Hongbin was also involved in the offensive against the Japanese at the Battle of West Suiyuan. The Muslim Generals Ma Hongkui and Ma Bufang protected Lanzhou with their cavalry troops and put up such a resistance that the Japanese never captured Lanzhou during the war. Ma Bufang sent the Muslim Brigade Commander, Major General Ma Buluan (马步銮), who led the 1st Regiment of the Nationalist Reorganized 8th Cavalry Brigade, which was originally known as the 1st Cavalry Division and later renamed the 8th Cavalry Division during the war. The brigade was stationed in eastern Henan and fought a number of battles against the Japanese invaders, who