Terrorism is an assault on Islam: David Cameron

London, Jul 17: Prime Minister David Cameron has said that terrorism is an assault not only on its victims but on Islam also whose good name it perverts, as he greeted Muslims in the UK and elsewhere on Eid-ul-Fitr.

Highlighting the "British Muslim values", Cameron said: "This Ramadan, we've seen community spirit with inventive ways of breaking the fast with people of all faiths and none; from the Scouts' open-air iftar in Birmingham to the iftar on the Thames in London - from events in synagogues and churches to community centres, homes and even tents."

He also took the opportunity to draw attention to the growing dangers of terrorism at home and abroad.

"Terrorism is not just an assault on those victims. It's not just an assault on Islam, whose good name it perverts. It's an assault on us all, on our way of life, and we must defeat it," Cameron said in a video message.

Referring to ISIL and the territories it has occupied in Syria and Iraq, Cameron said: "We think about what life is like right now for people across the world for those in Syria and Iraq – families just like ours – suffering at the hands of ISIL and Bashar al-Assad."

He also remembered the victims of terrorism who lost their lives in attacks during the holy month of Ramadan.

"We think of all the victims of terrorism during this time; of the families attacked in their homes in Kobane, the worshippers killed as they prayed in Kuwait and the holidaymakers in Tunisia murdered on the beach and I know that mosques across Britain have dedicated Friday sermons to remembering the victims," the British prime minister said.

Islam is the second largest religion in the UK and Muslims form nearly 4.5 per cent of the total population according to 2011 official census data.

PTI