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**lzwha** · 06-30-2010, 02:05 AM

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[7] Who ever says Barelwis are in majority in Pakistan is parroting a Barelwi concocted lie, one has to simply count the number of masjids and madrasah's in any given city to get an idea.

I have not gotten my opinion from Barelwis; it is based on my own experiences. The Barelwi inclined are the overwhelming majority outside of the major cities (bear in mind that most Pakistanis do not live in Urban areas) and even within the cities, from my own experiences, they are the most numerous, if not the majority.

Regarding the numbers of Madrassahs and Masjids in a given city and the orientation of its ulema or management, how can that accurately reflect the orientation of the laymen in that area? What percentage of people in Pakistan, period, are Madrassah students? What percentage head Masaajid? That number is infintessimal and whatever evidence of the "Deobandiness" of an area that Madrassahs and Masjids attest to is applicable to that infintessimal number.

It's not easy to gauge this so a blanket declaration shouldn't be made in my opinion. Also we have to differentiate between the irreligious bidah prone people from the proper Barelwis.
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So how would you go about making the distinction? For myself, if someone engages (or believes in the permissibility of) making Tawaaf to or Sajdah around the graves of the pious, affirms the Barelwi understanding of "Haazir wa Naazr" for the Rasul (peace be upon him), and engages in a multitude of other bidahs like burning incense at graves, subcontinent-style Mawlids, etc. he is a Barelwi even if he never heard the name since these are the hallmarks of the Barelwi "Maslak" or "Minhaaj". Do you have an alternative way of looking at it?

06-30-2010, 02:05 AM	#11
lzwha Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 398 Senior Member	:... [7] Who ever says Barelwis are in majority in Pakistan is parroting a Barelwi concocted lie, one has to simply count the number of masjids and madrasah's in any given city to get an idea. I have not gotten my opinion from Barelwis; it is based on my own experiences. The Barelwi inclined are the overwhelming majority outside of the major cities (bear in mind that most Pakistanis do not live in Urban areas) and even within the cities, from my own experiences, they are the most numerous, if not the majority. Regarding the numbers of Madrassahs and Masjids in a given city and the orientation of its ulema or management, how can that accurately reflect the orientation of the laymen in that area? What percentage of people in Pakistan, period, are Madrassah students? What percentage head Masaajid? That number is infintessimal and whatever evidence of the "Deobandiness" of an area that Madrassahs and Masjids attest to is applicable to that infintessimal number. It's not easy to gauge this so a blanket declaration shouldn't be made in my opinion. Also we have to differentiate between the irreligious bidah prone people from the proper Barelwis. ..... So how would you go about making the distinction? For myself, if someone engages (or believes in the permissibility of) making Tawaaf to or Sajdah around the graves of the pious, affirms the Barelwi understanding of "Haazir wa Naazr" for the Rasul (peace be upon him), and engages in a multitude of other bidahs like burning incense at graves, subcontinent-style Mawlids, etc. he is a Barelwi even if he never heard the name since these are the hallmarks of the Barelwi "Maslak" or "Minhaaj". Do you have an alternative way of looking at it?
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