Give ‘em a break, Roger. This is just one of those sycophantic idiocies that emerge in all cultures and presist until supereded by the next stylish obeisance. They are all obeisances. Every scientific paper published in the Soviet Union or in Mao’s China — let alone every journalistic account thereof — began or provided within its first paragraph a statement on the genius of Stalin, or of Mao, which fully anticipated and made possible the work to be discussed. Likewise, on the other side, Der Fuehrer and the local Gauleiter. All forms of political correctness are really obeisances to POWER. In the present case, “…no way indicative of the city’s Muslim popuation…” is the required arse-kissing, not of Muslims, but of the nice people who have or control (quoting Cornford), “all the money going.” The penalty for failing to exonerate Muslims-in-general is loss of esteem and probably of one’s job.

The interesting question is why the plutocrats who own, e.g., the media, or run universities, or even some great industrial companies, are so eager to exonerate their pledged conquerors or assassins.