The Panthay rebellion was not religious in nature, because the Muslims who participated in the revolt were aided by non-Muslim Shan, Kakhyen and members of other hill tribes.[129] A British officer testified that the Muslims did not rebel for religious reasons, because the Chinese were tolerant of different religions and as a result, they were unlikely to have caused the revolt by interfering in the practice of Islam.[130] In addition, loyalist Muslim forces helped the Qing crush the rebel Muslims.[131]