Bahawa Panglima Cheng Ho yang kita kenali selama ini sebenarnya bernama Zheng He dan beragama Islam. Nama Islamnya dalam bahasa Cina ialah Ma Sanbao, atau dalam bahasa Arabnya Mahmud Shamsuddin.
Kedatangan Panglima Zheng He (Cheng Ho) ke Melaka pada abad ke-15 sebenarnya memberikan kesan signifikan terhadap perkembangan dakwah Islam di kawasan empayar Kesultanan Islam Melayu Melaka.
Rosey Wang Ma dalam bukunya "Chinese Muslim in Malaysia : History and Development" menyebut :
Described as an 'explorer, conqueror, and trader', and as an envoy of the Emperor of China, Zheng He's visits to the Muslim Malay World had an undeniable impact as far as Islam is concerned. Indonesian Islamic scholar Hamka wrote in 1961: 'The development of Islam in Indonesia and Malaya is intimately related to a Chinese Muslim, Admiral Zheng He.
