A knowledgeable person attended a conference and accused all the people of being either misleading or misled except the group to which he belonged. He also said that there is nothing called Jihaad in the present time and he requested from the attendants not to give up Palestine, Afghanistan or Chechnya. What is the ruling of Islam on this?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

It is wrong and unfair to confine truth to a particular sect and to accuse all others of erring. In a Hadeeth on the authority of Abu Hurayrah the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, mentioned that if a man says that people are doomed, then he will be the first and worst of the ill-fated, (or his statement is a mere claim that people are doomed when they are not actually so). [Muslim]

The truth lies in the beliefs, actions and sayings of the Salaf (righteous predecessors). Whoever adheres to this, regardless of where he is or to which group he belongs, is on the right path. It is impermissible for the Muslim to lose hope in liberating Muslim countries no matter how bad things may seem. This is because rights must inevitably be returned to their people. What this man said is only a sign of his ignorance, and his words reflect the ideology of his group (whatever it may be). Every person is judged for his own actions and does not bear the guilt of others.

Allaah Knows best.