An angry upstate New York man says there's not a prayer that he'll remove a nasty sign prompted by a feud with the mosque next door.
"BOMB MAKING NEXT DRIVEWAY," reads the stenciled message on the front lawn of Michael Heick.
The message outraged many residents of Amherst, a Buffalo suburb where Heick is upset by the Jaffarya Center's proximity to his property and its bright lights.
The sign is more a poke at town officials than a political statement, he insisted. And local authorities can't order him to take it down, because the message is protected by the First Amendment.
"The place is too close," Heick griped to the Buffalo News. "I don't care what people think. It doesn't matter what people think. This is a way to get answers now.
"I get none from the town. The intent was to catch the eye of the people who I have a problem with."
Mosque officials complained the sign was offensive and could instigate trouble against its worshippers.
"I would really think it's an incitement of hatred against Muslims," said mosque board of trustees member Syed Jaffri. "Law enforcement should take it very seriously. Tomorrow, somebody could say, 'Oh, they have weapons' - and people believe it."
But Heick repeated his contention that the folks at the mosque are overreacting.
"The sign is not directed at anybody," he told the Buffalo News. "If they feel it's at them, that's how they feel."