Knife? What Knife?

Christopher Hitchens reckons Islamophobia is not only a "fake term" but also a "dangerous" one.

Here's his 'reasoning': a phobia is an "irrational fear or dislike." "Islamic preaching very often manifests precisely this feature." Therefore, "suspicion of it is by no means irrational." (Apply the test of tolerance to Muslims, too, The Australian, 28/8/10)

Putting to one side the bleeding obvious - that in religious preaching of any kind the irrational is likely to predominate over the rational - I wonder how Hitchens would characterise the 24 August knife attack on New York taxi driver Ahmed Sharif, consequent on the latter divulging to his attacker, when asked, that he was a Muslim.