How sad is it when the only moderate Muslim willing to speak up about a love for American and a hatred for terrorism happens to be a fourteen-year-old girl!

For example, not too long ago my family and I drove by a consulate in
Los Angeles and saw less than a dozen of the world’s one billion
Muslims protesting in support of some of the terrorism going on in the
world. "WE support terrorists," they were saying, implying that ALL
Muslims feel the same. I felt angry at the protesters. My family is
Muslim. WE don’t support terrorists or terrorism anywhere in the
world, and neither do any Muslims that I know. I’ve been going to
Muslim school once a week for four years at the Islamic Center. They
teach us that we should treat all people - Muslims and non-Muslims,
with respect. They never teach us that terrorism is a good thing. We
start every class by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. The protesters
were stupid and should have been ashamed of themselves for criticizing
a country that protects them more than the country they were from.
We’re grateful that America gives every immigrant family - including
Muslim families like mine limitless opportunities to live successfully
in peace and freedom. My mom got so mad at the protesters’ attempt to
involve her, that she started yelling at the lady leading the protest,
and I thought they were going to get into a fight. They were talking
so fast in Indonesian that I couldn’t even understand what they were
saying, but I could tell my mom was standing up for America.

Defending America - being proud to be Americans wasn’t something my Mom
or I - or any of my Muslim friends have to think about carefully. We
love America. We love Islam. People who think you can’t love both are
wrong. That’s why it bothers me when I get stared at when I go into
Burger King wearing my hijab. This is why it bothers me when the
airport profiles anyone who "looks" Muslim. This is why it bothers me
when I smile at people in my hijab and they don’t smile back.

I look forward to growing up in America and raising my own children to
be good Americans AND good Muslims. I look forward to a day when
national disagreements will be resolved peacefully, and innocent
children and grownups won’t have to die. No matter what name we refer
to Him by, God IS blessing America, and we shouldn’t let our religious
or cultural differences make us forget that.

If only more Muslim-Americans would have the courage of this teenage girl.