According to my observations there exists an anti-jihad culture in the whole of the Ummah, and not only Tabligh Jama'ah. So, you'll find them in TJ just as anywhere else. I think many Muslims have a warped understanding of what Jihad means due to (1) propaganda of Kuffar and (2) mischief done in the name of Jihad. They think Jihad simply means "slaughtering Kuffar", "kidnapping innocents" and "showing no mercy", but if you allude them to the jihadi stories compiled by Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Zakariyya in Hikaayatus Sahabah or Hadhrat-ji Mawlana Yusuf's explicit use of the word "Jihad" in chapters for Hayatus Sahabah they'll claim that this is something totally different. These are just my general observations as I don't know which comments they actually made and how they replied to your advice. But at the same time I've witnessed myself Tablighi (elders) going to great lengths in defending Mujahideen. But the usual bickering and quarreling between both camps makes the gap just larger.