Palmer businessman Russell Baker has reached out to local Muslim organizations by providing a free billboard to advertise the “Mission Statement” of Hampshire mosque, the ISWM, and the Muslim Brotherhood – the Sunnah or sayings and practices of Mohammad.
Gazettenet.com 9/29/2010 – Pro-American sign in Palmer incites strong reactions
PALMER – WWLP’s Jackie Brousseau follows the story of the Palmer business owner who had a sign in front of his shop that warned American’s of the promise of the Muslim Brotherhood to “destroy us from within.”
Russell Baker’s original sign, at Baker’s Autobody and Self Storage Shop, along Route 20, outraged many. It had read: “Muslims will destroy us from within.” It prompted two visits from the FBI.
The sign now reads: “We are on the eve of destruction” on one side, and “Mosque at Ground Zero 73% say no!” on the other.
Gazettenet.com 9/30/2010
American Hero – Russell Baker of Palmer is trying to warn citizens of the violent incitments of Dr. Hazratji and his Islamic Socidty supporters, Dr. Bajwa, and Wissam Baki
WWLP follow up: Anti-Muslim sign in Palmer changed
PALMER – WWLP’s Shannon Halligan reports on a sign in front of Russell Baker’s shop that makes his opinion known – despite objections – about how he feels about Muslims.
It reads: “Muslims will destroy us from within.” The sign has prompted two visits from the FBI. Baker tells 22 News that he has the right to voice his opinion. But some neighbors feel his opinions should be kept to himself.
The sign should actually say that local Muslims ‘would like’ to destroy us from within, since the FBI and local authorities are well aware of the threat of of the Muslim Brotherhood and are keeping a close eye on their supporters within Hampshire mosque and the UMass MSA that have been urging Muslim students to engage in bloody violence and warfare against the local community, whether they like it or not.
Americans will squash the hateful Islamic bugs the way they did their great hero, Osama bin Mohammad bin Laden.
more …
Self Storage Owner Defends Controversial Sign
October 4, 2010 – PALMER – Russell G. Baker says he’s just speaking his mind when it comes to the controversial messages about the president and Muslims that he posts outside his Route 20 business, Baker’s Auto Body and Self-Storage.
But a recent sign – “Muslims are destroying us from within” – has sparked anger from some Muslims who say Baker is spreading hate and “Islamophobia.”
Baker, an intense 60-year-old man who can barely stand to utter the president’s name, takes offense that he’s been called a bigot, racist and other negative words by critics.
He said he started posting messages on the sign before President Barack H. Obama took office.
“I did a little research through his background and I wasn’t a happy camper. In a nutshell, number one, he’s not who he claims to be and number two, he’s a Muslim,” Baker said.
He said his claims are supported by Internet sites and through material he says he receives from friends. He said Obama lies about being a Christian.
He doesn’t have a problem with Muslims overall – “There’s good and bad in all,” he says – but said he does have a problem with extremists.
He also thinks that if people failed to read the other side of the sign, which was, “Obama appointed 2 devout Muslims to Homeland Security,” the message about Muslims could be taken out of context.
Asked who the devout Muslims are, Baker couldn’t say.
Imam Wissam Abdul Baki, of the Islamic Society of Western Massachusetts in West Springfield, said he wants to meet with Baker, either at the center, or at his business. He said Baker and other detractors have a “fear of the unknown.” Baker would be greeted with love and kindness, even though they were hurt by his sign’s message, Baki said.
“We can help him and we are ready to do whatever we can to help him,” Baki said.
John H. DeBonville, chaplain at American International College in Springfield, said the problem is that some Americans tend to equate all Muslims with terrorists.
“Americans don’t know their own religion, never mind others. This creates a huge problem,” DeBonville said, adding that the only information most Americans get about Muslims comes in 20-second sound bites on television.
“They don’t hear about the good things the Islamic mosque in West Springfield is doing. … Their religion is not a militant one,” he said.
Baker, DeBonville said, has every right to do what he’s doing, but he said he is disappointed that Baker is so “fearful that he has to do something like this.”
“I feel sorry for the guy, really,” DeBonville said.
This past week, the Islamic Society of Western Massachusetts held a meeting at its West Springfield mosque and center to increase understanding about Muslims, as it and local Muslims have been the target of hostilities recently, fueled perhaps by the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the controversy over building a mosque near “Ground Zero,” the former World Trade Center, or by Florida minister Terry Jones’ threat to burn the Quran, Islam’s holiest book.
Center signs have been sprayed with graffiti, including a devil image, a nasty telephone message was left at the center and Baki’s home was vandalized – apples were thrown at it in the middle of the night.
West Springfield Mayor Edward J. Gibson attended the meeting, where he said the “best way to fight fear is to educate people.”
Springfield’s Maher M. Awkal, an Islamic Society board member, wrote a letter to the editor of The Republican on behalf of the society about the Baker issue.
It reads in part: “We invite and encourage Mr. Baker to visit a mosque and speak with people of knowledge about Islam and Muslims in order to learn about them. Russell’s comments resonate with those of Terry Jones’ rants of ignorance, hate, and bigotry. Through education we can overcome this Islamophobic trend. Through education we can learn to tolerate and understand each other without being offensive and without repeating some of the dark history our country has had to endure.”
Awkal, in a telephone interview, said he understands the right to free speech, but said citizens also need to be mindful of hate and bigotry.
“To use a wide brush and to really portray hate against a certain religion, or sect, is just wrong as a human being. We shouldn’t be portraying that. We have to be mindful of other people’s feelings,” Awkal, 38, said.
Awkal, an aerospace engineer, said he lived in Beirut before coming to Western Massachusetts 26 years ago. He said if he and Baker sat down together they would probably discover they like the same sports teams and eat the same foods.
“I grew up with people hating each other. I was shot at by snipers. Several people attempted to kidnap me as a kid. I migrated here to avoid all of that. … I don’t want to destroy this country. … I want to help this country prosper. … This country has been good to me and it’s my country as much as Russell Baker’s and anybody else’s country,” Awkal said.
After a week’s worth of publicity about his sign and its anti-Muslim message, Baker said he can now see how it could be viewed as offensive, especially without reading its other side about the appointments.
Baker said he personally doesn’t know any Muslims.
He said the sign has not hurt the business he’s had since 1972, but helped it. He changes the messages about twice a week and keeps a list of everything he’s posted. His latest sign is about his opposition to the mosque at Ground Zero.
“I have more friends, associates now, per se, than what I’ve had all my life prior to starting this,” Baker said.
But his outspoken anger with the president, who he says is not a U.S. citizen and was basically groomed at a young age for the presidency, has attracted attention from law enforcement as well.
Baker, who was shot down in a helicopter during his Army service in Vietnam, spoke freely on his theories about Obama, but did not want to say much about two visits Secret Service agents have paid him. The most recent one had to do with a sign about the Obama family’s summer trip. Baker said he was asked to change the wording.
A spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service declined to comment.
Palmer Police Lt. John J. Janulewicz said his department also has fielded angry calls about Baker’s signs.
“People think it’s offensive to the president. … He’s treading on thin ice,” Janulewicz said.
Baker said that his signs can be construed in a multitude of ways and that he does that intentionally.
“It’s out there for everyone who goes by. Some people are going to enjoy it, some won’t,” he said.
“I’m not being a bigot. The sign has done exactly what I want it to do. It gets people thinking. The majority of people are in favor of what I’m doing. … The inspiration is within me. There are so many who sit back, they are afraid of the truth,” Baker said. “It’s like Jack Nicholson said in that movie (“A few good men”) … ‘You can’t handle the truth.’ They just don’t want to come out of their bubble.”
Baker noted First Lady Michelle Obama’s statement during her husband’s presidential bid that “for the first time she was proud to be an American.”
“I’ve got a problem with that,” Baker said.
“It isn’t me that I’m worried about, it’s the children of tomorrow,” Baker said. “Jobs are going overseas. I’m worried about the U.S. becoming a third-world country.”
Baker is urging people to get out and vote on Nov. 2, and to vote out the old regime.
“Now that I’ve started it, it will be here until the day that I die,” Baker said about the sign.
Baker, who describes himself as a political independent, said he voted for George W. Bush. He listens to Fox News and admires Rush Limbaugh.
“I try and mimic him, by expressing what’s on my mind. He holds back nothing,” Baker said.
