Questioning Leaders When Muslims Are Being Harmed - As-Salāmu ʿAlaykum

السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ I consider myself someone who follows the manhaj of the salaf, and lately I’ve been seeing groups who call themselves salafi - more specifically madkhalis - and it’s been bothering me. I shared some videos criticizing the UAE government over what’s happening in Sudan, and the comments came back saying I have no right to speak because I’m not a qualified scholar. People quoted texts about rebelling against Muslim rulers and said speaking against them is itself a form of rebellion. That confuses me. I remember many respected scholars in the past did criticize rulers when needed. We see governments making laws that go against Islam, and we hear about Muslim brothers and sisters suffering in places like Yemen and Sudan. Are we just meant to sit and watch while people are being harmed, simply because those doing harm claim to be Muslim? This doesn’t feel like the way of the salaf (the Sahābah, Tābiʿīn and Tabaʿ Tabaʿīn). In some cases, the early scholars would have already declared clearly wrong actions for what they are. Now even well-qualified scholars seem hesitant to speak up. It’s worrying that today someone can be labeled an extremist or a khārijī just for criticizing a Muslim leader when people’s lives are at stake. I’m not calling for chaos or fitnah, but I do feel we need principled, knowledgeable voices to point out injustice and protect the ummah. What do others think? Wasn’t advising and enjoining good part of the salaf’s approach, especially when oppression and bloodshed are happening?