UK's Cameron: Average Muslims Want Christians to Help Them Fight Extremists

UK Prime Minister David Cameron wants Christian leaders in his country to get involved in the "great fight" against terrorism by "reaching out" to Muslims and helping to prevent people from becoming extremists. That's according to the UK publication, Express.

His call to Christians follows the terrorist attacks in Brussels, Belgium. ISIS jihadis bombed the airport and metro system. At least 31 people lost their lives in the attacks. More than 200 were injured.

Cameron spoke at an Easter reception for Christians in Downing Street the day after the Brussels attacks.

"This is the great fight that we have to join," Cameron said. "Our brothers and sisters who are Muslims, they want our assistance. We should be reaching out and wanting to help them battle against extremism. We have to build stronger and more resilient communities. We have to make sure that people who are drifting into an extremist mindset are yanked back."

"In the end our values are far stronger, far more appealing than anything they have to offer," Cameron said, referencing that liberal democracy would have the victory over extremism. "We are rational rather than extremist, but don't mistake that for lack of passion."

Cameron spoke about his faith and shared why he thinks the UK is a Christian country.

"We shouldn't be embarrassed about that," he said. "Sometimes people wonder if you say Britain is a Christian country that is somehow 'doing down' other faiths. Absolutely the reverse."

According to the UK newspaper, The Telegraph, Cameron stated it "actually helps others of a different faith to feel there's a space for faith."

"I'm not saying our country has reached some sort of perfection when it comes to building a multi-race, multiethnic, multi-faith, multicultural democracy, but I think it's pretty remarkable what we're building in our country… A country where wherever you come from, whatever the color of your skin, whatever god you worship, you can aim to make it to the very top," he continued.

According to Express, Cameron also explained why he sometimes has a confrontational way of speaking in the House of Commons.

"When I try to explain and atone for my behavior at Prime Minister's Questions, I sometimes say to people it's one of those occasions when you're either one of the Christians or one of the lions," he said.

Cameron is unwavering in his belief that the UK is a Christian country, even though critics have accused him of stirring up "alienation and division."

In addition to this week, he made that assertion last Christmas and the year before.

"Right now, our brave armed forces are doing their duty, around the world... It is because they face danger that we have peace. And that is what we mark today as we celebrate the birth of God's only son, Jesus Christ - the Prince of Peace," he said in the 2015 Christmas message. "As a Christian country, we must remember what his birth represents: peace, mercy, goodwill and, above all, hope."

"I believe that we should also reflect on the fact that it is because of these important religious roots and Christian values that Britain has been such a successful home to people of all faiths and none," he continued.

The British newspaper, The Independent, reports that in the UK, "the number of people who don't follow any religion has risen to almost half the population in 2014."

According to The Independent, a spokesman for the National Secular Society, Stephen Evans, has criticized Cameron, saying, "We look to political leaders for leadership, not theology, and this kind of language reveals him to be less than statesmanlike."

"David Cameron needs to appreciate that he isn't a leader of Christians, he's the prime minister of a diverse, multi-faith, and increasingly non-religious nation," Evans continued.

Cameron's bold assertion is a contrast to what U.S. President Barack Obama has said in the past.

"Whatever we once were, we are no longer a Christian nation -- at least, not just. We are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, and a Buddhist nation, and a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers," then-Senator Obama said in the June 28, 2006 "Call to Renewal" keynote address. He made the speech at a conference sponsored by the progressive Christian magazine, Sojourners.