Tony Abbott has called for a religious reformation of Islam

TONY Abbott has controversially spoken out about Islam in an interview, saying we must realise “all cultures are not equal”.

Tony Abbott in the House of Representatives Chamber at Parliament House in Canberra.

TONY Abbott has controversially called for a religious “reformation” of Islam, speaking out against a “culture” that “thinks you can kill in the name of God”.

The former Prime Minister made the comments in a wide-ranging interview on the Paul Murray Live program on Sky News.

Mr Abbott said not only did there need to be a military offensive, but also a “hearts and mind” offensive to tackle the rise of radical Islam while also calling for Australians to have greater confidence in Western civilisation.

“We’ve got to work closely with live-and-let-live Muslims because there needs to be, as President (Abdel Fattah) Al-Sisi of Egypt has said, a religious revolution inside Islam,” Mr Abbott said on the program. “All of those things that Islam has never had – a Reformation, an Enlightenment, a well-developed concept of the separation of church and state – that needs to happen, but we can’t do it; Muslims have got to do this for themselves, but we should work with those who are pushing in that direction.

“The other thing that’s needed is a restoration of cultural self-confidence in those who are supporters of Western civilisation. All cultures are not equal and, frankly, a culture that believes in decency and tolerance is much to be preferred to one which thinks that you can kill in the name of God, and we’ve got to be prepared to say that.”

When asked about the involvement of Russia in the war against IS, Mr Abbott said there were “encouraging straws in the wind” but pointed out that Russian bombings in Syria were not just targeting IS, but opponents of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

He also said it was encouraging that the US was sending in ground troops into the troubled region.

“Certainly President Obama’s decision a week or so back to put those special operations forces on the ground in Iraq and Syria to fight – not just to advise – I think is a very encouraging sign that finally there is developing a real will to win this because in the end Islamic State can’t be contained; it has to be destroyed,” he said.

Tony Abbott says he still is undecided about his future.

Mr Abbott also revealed in the 45-minute interview that he still had not made up his mind about retirement saying he had received “thousands and thousands” of messages urging him to remain in Parliament.

“I certainly haven’t resolved it,” he said. “I said back in mid-September that I would be talking to family and friends over the Christmas period.

“I have literally thousands and thousands of messages of support and encouragement.

“If I stay on in public life is a vocation, if I may say so; being a member of Parliament, including a backbench member of Parliament, is a noble and an honourable calling.”

Mr Abbott also refused to be drawn on the leadership spill that saw him ousted from the top job in September, or the reported breakdown in his relationship between himself and his former deputy Julie Bishop.

He also couldn’t help but remind viewers that under his watch the Government “stopped the boats” and managed to keep Australia “safe”.

He also refused to back away from controversial policies such as the GP co-payment, cutting the indexation rate of pensions and university fee deregulation.

“All of these things, I think, were justifiable and right. Obviously in the circumstances of the aftermath of that budget they struggled, but nevertheless they were all very defensible policies and I’m happy to continue to defend them,” he said.

And he also took full responsibility for bestowing a Knighthood on Prince Philip telling host Paul Murray the idea was all his in response to an article in The Australian which claimed the Queen had asked for the honour to be made.

Tony Abbott has written a controversial opinion piece on Islam which will appear in Wednesday’s The Daily Telegraph.