If you can attend an Anzac Day ceremony and hear the Turkish ambassador read the famous words of Turkish president Ataturk without an enormous lump in your throat, my bet is you are a very rare Australian.

As Colonel Mustafa Kemal, Ataturk played a significant role in defeating the Allies at Gallipoli. His tribute to the Anzacs killed there includes these words: "There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side now here in this country of ours ... you, the mothers who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well."

The caliph at the time had declared it a holy war. Kemal and the Turkish troops were fighting not only over land; Allah was in their hearts. That makes Ataturk's tribute particularly poignant.

The caliph's call was answered in Australia up near Broken Hill when two Afghanis, apparently thought to be Turks at the time, shot and killed three picnickers and wounded others. They were subsequently shot and killed by police. Associated with this was the destruction of the local German club in a riot. Nearly 100 years ago we learnt that terror travels.Advertisement

It being a jihad created a problem for the many Muslims among the enormous Indian contingent. Leaders were sensitive to the problem and as much as possible Muslims were shifted off to fight elsewhere. Indian soldiers landed with us, fought with us and, importantly, kept the supply lines up to the Anzacs.

I hope that next year an Indian contingent will be allowed to march in my home town of Adelaide on Anzac Day, and I regret that they were not allowed to do so this year. If your great or great-great grandfather returned from Gallipoli, he may well have had his life saved directly or indirectly by one of the Indian Muslims. Your own life may not have come about but for them.

Paul Keating is rightly scathing of the indifference and ineptitude shown by British leaders that brought about the loss of so many lives at Gallipoli. That it was a horrific disaster seems unquestionable.  People can argue about the extent to which the Gallipoli legend has been stretched, but that is not my point. Nor is the poor quality of the British command. What is relevant is the startling display of courage, determination and fellowship by the Anzacs so early in the life of our nation. I think paying homage to that is far more important than having a poke at the Poms.

The Muslim and Christian religions have much in common. Radical fanatics do bad things and we all need to stand together against them. Islam holds no monopoly on the production of radical fanatics. Hitler is a good example.

Muslim troops fought with the Allies in World War II, and Muslims in many capacities heroically stepped in and saved the lives of thousands of Jewish people. Michael Wolfe has researched this topic and turned up some fascinating stories.

For example, the British issued a stamp in honour of Noor Inayat Khan, who was in the British Special Operations Executive. She worked as a wireless operator in Paris and her work would have been vital to the French underground. She survived longer than most radio operators but was eventually captured and killed in Dachau.

Turkish diplomats were particularly brave. The Turkish ambassador in Paris, Behic Erkin, was very generous in his interpretation of "Turkish connections" and thus issued documentation for thousands of Jews who could then get out of Europe. The Turkish consul general in Marseille, Necdet Kent, showed remarkable bravery in stopping a train with 80 or so Turkish Jews on board from leaving for Germany.

The Turks were not alone in exhibiting such bravery. An Iranian consulate worker in Paris, Abdol-Hossein Sardari, was apparently dubbed the Iranian Schindler. He convinced the Germans that Iranian Jews had been Iranian for thousands of years and should thus be left alone. Then he issued necessary papers to hundreds of non-Iranian Jews, ensuring their safety.

All of this is worth reflecting on now because of the heightened tension surrounding the so-called Islamic State and its recruitment of young Australians to fight its so-called holy war. Perhaps we need to be reminded of Ataturk's common sense and goodwill. His kind, generous and consoling words were written less than two decades after some 56,000 of his countrymen lost their lives at the hands of the Allies.

These fanatics in Syria and elsewhere create a problem for all of us. Their murderous and barbaric behaviour frightens everyone. Because they are Muslim, everyone is on higher alert when near people who by their dress convey that they are Muslim – and yet the overwhelming majority of Muslims are good and decent people. That in itself creates a feeling of distance or unease between good and decent Australians. The point is, the good and decent people, whether of any religious faith or none, are not the ones who have created this unease. It is the fanatics who have done that.

Equally, when people who are Islamic do things that draw the attention of our security forces it is easy for any who are up to no good, to claim that they are just like any other good and decent Muslim. In effect, bad people can use minority status to claim that they are being picked on because of their faith.

In responding to the threat created by home-grown jihadis, law enforcement activity will necessarily focus on people of Muslim faith simply because jihadists come from that faith. The attendant media coverage will cause many Australian Muslims discomfort. New laws may in one way or another cause many of us inconvenience or annoyance.

We might all feel somewhat apprehensive. Moderate Muslim families with unsettled teenagers will be terrified. Moderate Muslims whose dress reveals their religion will be apprehensive. Every parent of a police officer will be on tenterhooks. This is a time to show disdain for the shock-jocks and jingo-junkies who whip up rednecks with their rubbish. In doing so, we will remind ourselves of the best of Australia.

Non-Muslim Australians would do well to ensure that any criticism is focused not on Muslims generally but on fanatical Muslims. Equally, Muslim Australians need to be loud, strong and clear in their condemnation of the fanatics.

The important thing to remember is that Muslims are not our enemy – Australians have fought with them in several wars. Fanatics are our enemy. Australian Muslims and all other Australians should stand together – they with us and we with them – against these crazy people.

Amanda Vanstone is a columnist for The Age and was a minister in the Howard government.

Fanatics, not Muslims, are our enemy