MANAMA, Bahrain (Reuters) -- Some 100 Bahraini Islamists shouting "God is Greatest" stormed a French restaurant serving alcohol in the pro-Western Gulf Arab state and threatened diners with knives, witnesses said Thursday.

One diner managed to wrest a knife away from the Islamists and stabbed one with it, causing him severe injuries, a witness said.

They said the assailants, opposed to the consumption of alcohol banned by Islam, also threw Molotov cocktails at customers' cars parked outside the restaurant near the capital Manama late Wednesday, damaging nine vehicles.

"Around 100 young men, shouting 'Allahu Akbar' [God is greatest], came to the restaurant carrying knives and shouted at the customers: 'Why do you drink?'" Jahanshah Bakhtiar, owner of La Terrasse Restaurant, said. [Maybe it's better than killing? NJC]

[. . . .] Bahrain, headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet and the Gulf's banking hub, has traditionally enjoyed a more liberal atmosphere than some of its more conservative neighbors.

It allows restaurants, bars and night clubs to serve alcohol but has recently witnessed a rise in protests against Western-style events deemed immoral by Islamists.