Yes I'm an italian convert. You are right, we suffer deeply for the almost complete lack of `ulama'. The few madrasa-graduates that you find in this or that musalla mostly work and have no concern for keeping taking care about their islamic education. I've known about Deobandi Maslak on the net and books; here it is what I wrote to another brother that asked me the same. -- Synthetically, I embraced Islam through Tasawwuf, but for a while after declaring Shahadah I've been busy with Islam basics and so on. After some months I "fell" in Sh. GF Haddad-related "Living Islam.org" and that gave me a good understanding and clarifications about what Traditional Sunni Islam is, and so on. Then keeping studying and reading, I kept track of the "endless" debates and discussions, and with the time it appeared clearly in front of my eyes that the Deobandi `ulama' had the soundest and strongest positions in every debate, be it with Rawafid, with pseudo-Salafies, or with extreme Barelwis. I saw great connection with Imam Rabbani Mujaddid Alf-i Thani Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi (that I love so much, RA), a strong emphasis on following the Sunnah and the Shari`ah, a following of classical `ulama' tempered by the continuous reference to Qur'an and Sunnah, deep spirituality and Tasawwuf without deviations or innovations, and so on. Also Deobandi `ulama' don't focus only on one department of Din, but are busy on the whole spectrum: Madaris for spreading knowledge, Fiqh, `Aqidah, Tabligh, Jihad, Tasawwuf, rebuttals of Batili sect, and shunning of Shirk and bid`ah. -- Sorry for the OT, we can keep talking about more important things now. ;-)