Former Aussie PM says Islam's "massive problems" must be addressed

Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has weighed into the terrorism debate, saying Western societies can no longer remain in denial about the problems associated with Islam.

In a newspaper opinion column written on Wednesday, Abbott said Islam must be reformed to combat its "massive problems".

"Dealing with terrorism and the Islamist fanaticism that inspires it is the great challenge of our time," he wrote in News Ltd newspapers.

"All cultures are not equal, a culture that believes in decency and tolerance is much preferred to one that says you can kill in the name of God."

Abbott, who was ousted as prime minister by Malcolm Turnbull in September, said Australians should stop apologizing for the Western values that have made "our country as free, fair and prosperous as any on Earth".

"There also needs to be a concerted hearts and minds campaign against the versions of Islam that make excuses for terrorists," he said.

Earlier, in an interview with Sky News on Tuesday night, Abbott said the Islamic State (IS) cannot be contained and must be destroyed. To do that, he said, would require a "strong security response" and a "hearts and minds response".

Since being deposed as prime minister, Abbott has remained as a backbencher in the Australian parliament and been an outspoken voice on the international stage against the dangers of radical Islam.

In October, he gave the keynote address at the Margaret Thatcher Lecture in London where he said Europe should close its borders to asylum seekers.

Abbott told Sky News that the recent airstrikes on Islamic State positions in Syria by French fighter jets were warranted after the terror attacks on Paris last month which killed 130 people.

He said all such military responses targeting IS in Iraq and Syria were necessary, though were only "containing the death cult, not destroying it".

He said Australian police and security authorities have responded with great professionalism and have taken this "new challenge in their stride". However, Abbott said more could be done as the danger intensifies.

"In the past few weeks there's been the bombing of a Russian airliner over Sinai killing 224 people, the multiple attacks in Paris killing 130, bombings in the Middle East killing 75, the massacre of 14 people in California (it now seems) and a four-day lockdown of Brussels," he said.

"Obviously there needs to be a very strong security response at home and abroad."

Greens leader Richard Di Natale told Sky News on Wednesday Abbott was "fanning the flames of division".

"Tony Abbott should pull his head in, should go and find himself a nice hobby, maybe fishing or a game of golf," he said.

"What he does is he talks to a very, very small group within the Australian community who have views that aren't consistent with a pluralist, modern, twenty-first century, multicultural nation." Enditem