Australia's former prime minister Tony Abbott has declared "we can't remain in denial about the massive problem with Islam" in an opinion piece for the right-leaning publication the Daily Telegraph.

The former conservative leader, who was ousted in September by a member of his own party, Malcolm Turnbull, used the column inches to further push his views regarding foreign policy and the western war on the Islamic State. The controversial piece was titled: "Islam must change, not us."

Calling for an escalated approach to dealing with terrorism, Abbott said that bombing targets in the Iraq and Syria region is not enough. He believes a "hearts and minds" campaign against radical Islam is needed to curb the increasing incidents of terrorism.

Abbott introduced strict anti-terrorism laws during his time in power, including a foreign fighters bill and increased metadata retention. He also enforced a hardline asylum seeker policy, which saw boats towed out of Australian waters. He caused a stir recently when he delivered a speech pushing his policy to deal with the refugee crisis in Europe.

The religion of Islam must reform, writes former PM Tony Abbott. https://t.co/wl7qRKw0zc pic.twitter.com/IiuYjlepE8 — The Daily Telegraph (@dailytelegraph) December 8, 2015

Abbott, who once trained as a Catholic priest, said some Muslims are "all too ready to justify 'death to the infidel'," citing unnamed surveys which state 30% of British and French Muslims are sympathisers with the Islamic State.

"Demonising Islam generally or all Muslims could bring on the 'clash of civilisations' that academic Samuel Huntington feared two decades back and make 'Islam's bloody borders' even more dangerous. But we can’t remain in denial about the massive problem within Islam," he wrote.

Abbott also encouraged Muslims to reclaim their faith from extremists, and dismissed claims the western response was to blame for the spread of the Islamic State. He concludes by stating that Australia should not apologise for its freedoms and that "cultures are not equal."

"It's also time Australians stopped being apologetic about the values that have made our country as free, fair and prosperous as any on Earth," he wrote.

"It's not culturally insensitive to demand loyalty to Australia and respect for Western civilisation. Cultures are not all equal. We should be ready to proclaim the clear superiority of our culture to one that justifies killing people in the name of God."

Twitter has of course blown up in response to the op-ed, with many claiming he should be mates with Donald Trump or just disappear entirely. Opposition leader Bill Shorten claims the new prime minister Turnbull — a more moderate leader — should simply pull Abbott into line.

shouldn't we send @TonyAbbottMHR to be our US ambassador... he'll get on well with President Trump — Scott Ludlam (@SenatorLudlam) December 8, 2015

Tony Abbott "we should be ready to proclaim the clear superiority of our culture" WTF!! Imagine if he was still PM... #dangerousfool #auspol — AntJessie (@AntJessie) December 8, 2015

Tony Abbott is a moron. Attitudes must change, not Islam. pic.twitter.com/QHv4UNlPfJ — Maddy Butler (@MadBut) December 8, 2015