Indonesia: Western media bias on Muslim deaths

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Indonesia's president accused Western media of bias in covering global conflicts Saturday, saying Muslim deaths in Iraq and Palestine often sparked less outrage than the killings of non-Muslims. "Rightly or wrongly" the perception created is often "that a Muslim life is less precious," Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told a media gathering on the resort island of Bali that brought together some 80 foreign journalists. "When non-Muslims are killed in the line of fire ... Western media outlets display much more outrage than when Muslims are killed routinely in Palestine, Iraq and now Lebanon," said Yudhoyono, whose country has more Muslims than any other, some 190 million. At the same time, the Indonesian leader praised the American press for not publishing the Prophet Muhammad cartoons this year and last that sparked a wave of outrage among Muslims worldwide, leaving scores dead.