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I wish I could laugh this story away, but it's just not funny at all. (Hope it wasn't posted, am having trouble keeping up the past few days.)

Islamists Crowd Storms Restaurant Over Alcohol

MANAMA (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 on 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 gasoline bombs at customers' cars parked outside the restaurant near the capital Manama late on Wednesday, damaging nine vehicles.

"Abound 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, told Reuters.

"They were acting as if they had the right ideas and people should obey them," he said, adding that there were about 40 customers in the restaurant.

As a follow up, these below articles come from the local English paper in Bahrain, which is widely read.

Bahrain is a very calm place typically, and stuff like this doesn't happen very often. I went hunting for the original article, as well as this follow up one, just in case anyone else was interested.

The whole thing also strikes me as really bizarre b/c there is alcohol quite easily had there in MANY places, and nearly every hotel, so it makes me wonder if these few places were targets for other reasons. Weekends (esp. Wed. nights, which is like our Friday night here) are nuts with people coming over from Saudi, etc. basically to drink...it's always a night to stay off the roads...

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/arc_Articles.asp?Article=77002&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=26365

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/arc_Articles.asp?Article=76890&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=26364

Police free 5 suspects in raid probe http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Articles.asp?Article=77087&Sn=BNEW

MANAMA: Five men arrested during an attack on La Terrasse French restaurant in Al Buharma on Wednesday night have been released, said Interior Ministry Under-Secretary Shaikh Daij bin Khalifa Al Khalifa last night.

"The prosecutor-general released five young men detained by police during the attack" he told AFP.

No other people have been detained in connection with the assault, "but investigations are continuing and if we obtain information pertaining to the incident we will disclose it," he said.

One of the owners of La Terrasse restaurant Khalid Abderrahman estimated the damage from the attack at BD10,000.

He told AFP that officials had yet to contact him or inspect the premises following the attack.

Parliament Chairman Khalifa Al Dhahrani yesterday condemned the attacks on public property and businesses at Tashan, Al Buharma and Al Salhiya on Wednesday night.

Parliament Islamic Coalition spokesman MP Mohammed Al Shaikh also strongly condemned the acts of violence and sabotage, dismissing them as "illegal" and "irresponsible".

stormed a French restaurant serving alcohol in the pro-Western Gulf Arab state and threatened diners with knives,

Just try that in Texas daiperheads.

O-MG! Can you imagine, sitting there minding your own business, having dinner and some nuts barge in, waving knives and shouting? Good grief. I think mental exercises in what we would do, should it happen to us, will stand us in good stead. Most likely coming to restaurants near US.