The best thing mainstream Muslims could do to ease the mistrust many feel, would be to come out clearly against the extremists and dissociate themselves from their views, instead of deflecting as the author does here.

The Catholic Church was guilty for decades of closing ranks and protecting the guilty priests out of a misguided sense of solidarity, denying there was a problem. It backfired badly.

Muslims should learn from this that deflection and "closing ranks" is counterproductive. For example, they should be encouraging Muslims to get evidence against the imams preaching hate so they can be prosecuted,  instead of "closing ranks" and accusing those enouraging them to do so of "Islamophobia".
That is like accusing the people  denouncing child abuse by priests of "Catholicaphobia".