Source: Muslim Wake Up!
http://www.muslimwakeup.com/main/archives/2005/06/american_muslim_3.php#more
On June 24, 2005 Muslim Wake Up! ran an opinion piece by Hesham Hassaballa, a physician and freelance writer from Chicago who also helped found the Chicago chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations. Hassaballa expresses the turmoil experienced by many Muslim-Americans who are struggling to embrace their "American-ness" while at times being critical of U.S. domestic and foreign policy. He writes, "I support my country's actions whenever they are on the side of justice, and I decline to support those actions that deviate from the side of justice. But declining to support America does not then mean I burn the flag and pray to God for America's destruction. No. Whenever I see my country doing wrong, I do my best to try to change its actions for the better, both peacefully and legally. That's how I manifest my love for my country. Yet, all my efforts will be for naught if America - and her people - do not see me as one of their own, and that will never happen until I first see myself as one of them and fully embrace my American-ness."