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Tony Blair: Woolwich attack shows there is a problem 'within Islam'
Tony Blair has warned that there is a problem "within Islam" as he described the ideology behind incidents like the Woolwich terror attack as "profound and dangerous".
Mr Blair, the former prime minister, used a column in the Mail on Sunday to call on the Government to “be honest” and admit that there is a widespread problem with the religion.
In a major intervention following the murder of soldier Lee Rigby, Mr Blair said "the seeds of future fanaticism and terror" were being sown and that children in the UK and abroad must be educated about the place of religion in society.
Mr Blair said: "There is not a problem with Muslims in general. Most in Britain will be horrified at Lee Rigby's murder.
"But there is a problem within Islam - from the adherents of an ideology that is a strain within Islam. And we have to put it on the table and be honest about it."
He said "at the extreme end of the spectrum are terrorists" but "by and large we don't admit it".
Mr Blair added: “The seeds of future fanaticism and terror, possibly even major conflict, are being sown. We have to help sow seeds of reconciliation and peace. But clearing the ground for peace is not always peaceful."
The former prime minister is the envoy to the Middle East on behalf of the Quartet - the UN, the US, the EU and Russia - charged with advancing reconciliation in the region.
Since taking up the position when he left Downing Street in 2007 he has failed to have any impact on the relationship between the Israelis and Palestinians, his critics’ claim, with one Palestinian official describing his role as “useless, useless, useless".
In his latest comments Mr Blair said "we should never forget" that the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan were long and hard because "we allowed failed states to come into being".
He also warned that achieving security in troubled nations was not enough to tackle the problem of extremism.
Mr Blair said: "We resisted revolutionary communism by being resolute on security; but we defeated it by a better idea: Freedom.
"We can do the same with this. The better idea is a modern view of religion and its place in society and politics. There has to be respect and equality between people of different faiths. Religion must have a voice in the political system but not govern it.
"We have to start with how to educate children about faith, here and abroad," he said.
Mr Blair added: "Now, more than ever, we have to be strong and we have to be strategic."