Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Wednesday defended his comments suggesting that Western culture is superior to that of Islam, and called for U.S.-directed assistance in conquering the Islamic State group.
In a Sydney Daily Telegraph opinion piece published earlier in the day, Abbott, a staunch Catholic, wrote of a demand to “modernize” Islam, saying it propagates a culture that is inferior to that of the West.
Critics associated his comments with those of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has proposed a contentious ban on all Muslim visitors to the U.S., with the exception of foreign Muslim leaders.
Once you adopt the principle of killing in the name of God, “we possess the war of all against all, until there is just one guy, or one particular faith or variation of faith left standing. Now, that’s a recipe for disaster, absolute catastrophe,” he added.
In September, Abbott suggested the Islamic State group was worse than the Nazis during World War II, angering members of the Jewish community.
“Islamic State has a simple but deadly message — submit or die. To most, a medieval fantasy, but logical enough to many Muslims based on their scriptures,” Abbott said Wednesday.
“We should deal with the allure of Islamic State and part of that is defeating it, because as long as it survives, there’s this idea that somehow it is of God, and whether or not it fails, practically by definition, it’s not.”
While the main fight should ultimately be between local forces and the Islamic State group, more aid ought to be rendered by outside powers like the U.S. and Australia, Abbott said.
Abbott spent two years in office before being ousted in September by present leader Malcolm Turnbull in a Liberal Party coup, but is still involved in politics.
