Why is a French citizen allowed to enter Bahrain with a purchased visa at the airport when a Bahraini must wait for hours on end outside the consulate in Manama?
(..) The other answer, and this must be addressed head-on, is that few Westerners want to blow themselves up in kamikaze operations - thus the requirement to undergo a background check. It may be true that a German will not necessarily embark on a terrorist mission in a Gulf city but this is a facile response.
Dr. Josesph A. Kechichian brushing aside the real reason why travelers worldwide, Muslims and non-Muslims, are subjected to degrading security checks. Must be the "9/11 syndrome".
However, he also ignores the issue of immigration. A French citizen will be given free access to Bahrain since nobody thinks he will overstay his visa. For some reason the French authorities have a more suspicious mind and think everybody wants to move to France.
Source: Gulf News (English)