A Muslim cleric Rahmatullah Kairanwi (from UP) was wanted for his role in 1857 mutiny. He fled to Saudi Arabia and established a madarsa in Kaaba primarily funded by Indian resident Muslims and the ones who went for Haj. Widow of a Bengali landlord gave the largest donation.
Rahmatullah Kairanwi had gained his fame prior to the mutiny for debating against a Protestant Padre Pfander in Agra. While living in Kaaba, Kairanwi gained insane popularity for his writings in the Islamic world and was patronized by then Ottoman Caliph.
His writings were quite popular in the Arab world and Turkey to the extent that the Turkish translation of his works were easily available. His primary concern was providing an intellectual base for the Islamic transnational project by treating Qur'an beyond a mere revealed text.
Another Indian Muslim cleric Sayyid Fadl who was responsible to instigate the violence against Hindus in Malabar in 1840s made a successful career after fleeing India. Using his religious credentials and Arab ancestry, he made Yemen his playground.
Carefully exploiting the conflicts between the tribes, he managed to become the ruler of Dhofar region in Yemen. He was ultimately deposed by the Sultan of Mascot in 1879 and that made him take refuge in Istanbul. He flourished in Istanbul under the patronage of Ottomans.
In 1880s, he tried a rather adventurous undertaking of using only Turkish steamers for Indian haj pilgrims with the support of Indian Muslim merchants operating from Medina and the Ottomans. Ottomans were inclined for it portray themselves as the sole saviour of Muslims.
British government ultimately didn't let the plan succeed but the above cases show how Muslims were able to create global networks primarily on the basis of religious credentials. Such systems easily transcended the ethnic and national boundaries.
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