So much for the hope that this week's conference of rabbis and imams would provide a platform for Muslim leaders to speak out on the fact that the thread that connects the attack on Israelis in Bulgaria, the shootings in Toulouse, and the plot to blow up Jews in Manchester - not to mention much of the everyday abuse on the streets of Europe's cities - is that the perpetrators have all been Muslim.

There were trite words aplenty. But the imams and other Muslim leaders remained in denial. The utility of interfaith conferences is, one has to say, limited.