By Dr Dzavid Haveric (pictured above, right), an Adjunct Research Fellow and Historian in the Charles Sturt Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation.

ANZAC Day on 25 April is a National Day of Remembrance when Australians pause to pay tribute to all Australian comrades in arms who served and died in all wars, ‘Lest we forget’.

Because of shared history, it is important for Muslims in Australia to commemorate the day.

Indeed, history helps people to appreciate the accomplishments of the past, and Muslims’ contribution to Australia in epic times of conflict is a noble theme in history.

It is important to acknowledge the historical fact of multicultural service, including Muslims, in the armed forces for more than a century and Muslims should be proud of their Australian military contribution.

In World War I, the ‘Great War’, 20 soldiers of Muslim background fought in the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) while in World War II, approximately 200 fought in the Second AIF.

As an example of Anzac Muslim soldiers at Gallipoli and beyond, Private Charles ‘Charley’ Khan typifies the character of army volunteers from Muslim ethnic minority groups.

Private Charley Khan was of Indian background and migrated to Australia in about 1895. He worked as a merchant in Renmark, South Australia, and enlisted on 6 April 1915 when he was 30 years old.

Charley’s Muslim identity didn’t prevent him from fighting in the AIF against the waning Ottoman Empire’s Turkish army in the Gallipoli campaign and later on the Western Front.

He was transferred to the 50^th Battalion as a cook and embarked on the the HMAT Kanowna (A61). Charles was initially judged to be fit for service and deployed with reinforcements in Gallipoli on 17 September 1915.

Being a loyal and patriotic soldier, he fought shoulder to shoulder with his Aussie comrades, sharing with them challenging times. After serving in Gallipoli, he served in France, Belgium and Egypt.

He was badly wounded in the field at Bullecourt, France, in 1917, and on 15 July 1919 he was returned to Australia and, during the voyage, Charles was admitted to the ship’s hospital with phlebitis.

While in the army, Charles maintained his honour, with a contribution that was selfless for which he was well known among members of his battalion. Charles became something of a ‘legend’ - in battle he bore the classic attribute of the ‘born soldier’, and when, as a cook, he made a meal for his unit, he became regarded as a ‘born cook’.

An Aussie brother-in-arms commented, ‘Everybody in the battalion to which I belonged knew him as ‘Charley’; he was a most valuable ally’.

Other soldiers also remarked about him: ‘He has done good service from Gallipoli on!’

‘Charles Khan was a good soldier in his day, had an excellent record, bore a good character, and was known to be a good citizen, a ‘coloured’ man, but a friend’.

‘Charley was an Indian and the only ‘coloured’ man in the unit. Everybody liked him; there was no colour line in the trenches.’

Private Charles Khan was also mentioned in despatches by General John Monash, and in the words of other Brigade commanders, ‘Khan’s work was always carried out efficiently and his cheerfulness and willingness in adverse circumstances made his services valuable to the battalion at all times’.

Besides his fighting skills, he was ‘commended for his most willing, able and conscientious work, being responsible in no small degree for the health of all the men in his Company’.

Charles was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, and the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

It is stories such as this, captured in my recent book A History of Muslims in the Australian Military from 1885 to 1945: Loyalty, Patriotism, Contribution, that has inspired some Australian Muslims to share with non-Muslims the Anzac commemoration, which was rarely the case in the past.

The painstaking research for this pioneering book is based on extensive empirical investigation and first-hand information from archives, conversations with descendants, community members, data from Trove, libraries, RSL clubs, historical societies, museums, memorials and cemeteries.

The outcome and impact of this research is gradually raising awareness about Muslims’ Australian military contribution, as well as their contribution at universities, among scholars, students and Muslim community members.

It is vital for social cohesion, the development of the nation and Australia’s future.

Even in the present turbulent times politicians who do not learn the lessons of history are condemned to repeat its mistakes.

Future students interested to study history can enrol in a Bachelor of Arts in the Charles Sturt School of Social Work and Arts.