there are actually very few things that are common between najdis of 18th century and different salafis now. its not as though the teachings were modified over time in different places because in some movements there is no evidence of najdism of ibn abdul wahhab being an influence. salafism, as is generally understood today, has been present before the time of ibn abdul wahhab actually. then as pir baba said there are many many lies fed about them by bidatis. i recently had a talk with some very angry malikis who were trying to prove salafis (as a whole) were khawarij. in the end all they managed to prove was that current saudi rulers and their supporters were khawarij. while the libyan salafis they were saying were khawarij would actually made takfeer of the people they proved as khawarij. yet they insisted on branding 'salafis' as khawarij. it is basically the error of thinking the entire salafi community is like the ones in our neighborhood.