A Tory leadership contender today likened Islamic extremists who justify violence by the concept of a holy war to the ideology of Hitler in the 1930s.

David Cameron said that a strain of Islamist thinking developed during the last century "which, like other totalitarianisms, such as Nazism and Communism, offers its followers a form of redemption through violence".

Mr Cameron, in a speech to the Foreign Policy Centre in London, said that after the Arab world declined in power and prestige, some Islamic thinkers had argued that the reason was because it had abandoned true Islam. Some, including Osama bin Laden, argued for a jihad (holy war) to "purge" the Arab world.

Mr Cameron has been tipped by some Conservative elder statesmen, including Lord Heseltine, as a possible centre-left running mate for Kenneth Clarke, the former Chancellor, in the race for the Tory leadership against the right wing David Davis, who is currently the frontrunner.

His supporters have however suggested that the ambitious frontbencher would rather go it alone than hitch his fortunes to Mr Clarke.

Today Mr Cameron sought to set out his serious credentials for leadership in a speech on Britain's current troubles with extremism. He said that it would be a huge mistake to bow to the pressure from a violent minority, or to believe that the jihadists' desire for blood would be assuaged by, for example, Britain withdrawing from Iraq.

He said: "Jihadism, like Nazism and Communism before it, often bewitches the minds of gifted and educated young men. Just like the Nazis of 1930s Germany, they want to purge corrupt cosmopolitan influences.

"The parallels with the rise of Nazism go further. Just as there were figures in the 1930s who misunderstood the totalitarian wickedness of Nazism and argued that Hitler had a rational set of limited political demands, so there are people today who try to explain Jihadist violence with reference to a limited set of political goals.

"If only, some argue, we withdrew from Iraq, or Israel made massive concessions, then we would assuage Jihadist anger. That argument, while often advanced by well-meaning people, is as limited as the belief in the Thirties that, by allowing Germany to remilitarise the Rhineland or take over the Sudetenland, we would satisfy Nazi ambitions.

"As we discovered in the 1930s, a willingness to cede ground and duck confrontation is interpreted as fatal weakness. It can provide an incentive to escalate the struggle against a foe who clearly lacks the stomach for the fight. Indeed, in the 1990s the inaction of the West fed the belief among Osama bin Laden and his allies that we lacked the strength to defend ourselves."

Mr Cameron added: "The lesson from all of this with respect to our presence in Iraq is clear. Premature withdrawal - and failure to support the Iraqi authority - would be seen as a surrender to militant jihadism. Nothing would embolden the terrorists more."

Mr Cameron is currently the Tory spokesman on education. In his speech on terrorism and homeland security today, he said that shared British values could be summed up as "freedom under the rule of law".

He called for a number of reforms to protect British freedoms, including: a dedicated UK border police force; withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights; a special commission to investigate the July 7 bombings; more resources for MI5; encouraging every citizen to learn English; ensuring that the national curriculum was enforced in faith schools, with lessons conducted in English; a Mosque Commission, led by Muslims, to "provide proper regulatory oversight" of mosques.

Mr Cameron's backing for the Iraq war effectively rules out the notion of a Tory leadership "dream ticket" with Mr Clarke, who has voiced strong disagreement with the invasion.

Many of his supporters believe that Mr Cameron would back David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary and leadership frontrunner, rather than Mr Clarke if he fails to make it to the final run-off, although they are still confident that he will make it.

Mr Clarke, one of the Conservative Party’s greatest pro-Europeans, stunned colleagues yesterday when he declared that the euro was a failure and said there was no prospect of Britain joining for ten years or more.

His dramatic U-turn led to speculation among MPs that he was hastily trying to build support for his leadership campaign in the predominantly eurosceptic party.

Lord Heseltine, the former Trade and Industry Secretary, threw his weight behind Mr Clarke yesterday and said only he could tackle the problems facing the Conservatives. "He is head and shoulders ahead of any other candidate."

Today's speech, which was cleared with Mr Davis, is the first of a series setting out Mr Cameron's views on key issues facing the party.

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