The ruling on describing Muslims as backward or conservative

Question:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner says: What is the ruling on describing Muslims as backward, conservative, terrorists, or extremists, and what is the ruling on the one who describes Muslims with these terms?

Answer:
This is the speech of the hypocrites. Before, we saw people like our companions who had greedier bellies, more lying tongues, and were more cowardly when meeting the enemy. Allah the Exalted said: So, the one who says this about the Muslims, this is apostasy from the religion of Islam. However, if he says that the Muslims are falling short in learning crafts and in preparing their equipment, and that there is a deficiency in their preparation, this is correct. But if he says that they are backward because of Islam, meaning that he believes Islam is what makes them backward and that they are lagging behind because of Islam—that Islam has delayed them—if this is his intention, this is apostasy from the religion of Islam. But if his intention is that they are falling short in what is obligatory upon them regarding learning and preparing their equipment, then this is correct. The Muslims are falling short, there is no doubt about it.