One incident, if I can recall correctly, is that there used to be a place in pre-Saudi times in the Arabian peninsula where some who called themselves Muslims worshipped a tree... Sh. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhaab may have had the correct intentions but as our 'ulama have said, he was harsh in his actions. You can see how kindness and simplicity in actions can move people against shirk and bid'ah if you look at the Tableeghi Jamaat movement because during Ml Ilyas 's time, Muslims were praying to idols in temples, forcing him to begin the work of da'wah towards Muslims.