After completing his education, he returned to the valley and travelled across the multiple regions, including Kishtwar and Turtuk, Nobra and Ladakh to propagate puritan form of Islam.
After returning from Punjab, Molana Anwar began to preach a puritanical form of Islam, which raised the ire of the locals due to his opposition of reverence at graves and shrines, which he derided as "worship": asthana wa qabar parasti.
Akhtar Mohiuddin, a literary figure of Kashmir, mentioned him in the book entitled, "Indian Literature" published by Sahitya Academy Delhi as under: A significant poet preacher of the period is Molvi Anwar Shah of Shopian.
His target were mullahs who he thought preached superstition instead of true religionDuring this period Molana Anwar gained some level of support for his movement, and in 1912 the first Ahle-hadith (Salafi) mosque was built at Zaldagar Srinagar.
During this period Molana Anwar visited Qadiyan city of Punjab and met Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiyani, the founder of Ahmadiyya Movement, and opposed his claim of being a Prophet or Maseehe Mauoud.