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FEDS SEIZE FOUR U.S. MOSQUES SUSPECTED OF BEING CONTROLLED BY IRAN - CALIFORNIA FOUNDATION SEIZED

The Islamic Education Center is seen in Potomac, Md. on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009.
The center rents this building from the Alavi Foundation, which owns the building
but does not run the center. Federal prosecutors filed a complaint Thursday
seeking to seize the assets of the foundation.

Federal prosecutors Thursday took steps to seize four U.S. mosques and a Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization long suspected of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government.

The assets include Islamic centers and foundations in Carmichael, Ca., New York City, Maryland and Houston and more than 100 acres in Virginia and a 36-story office tower in New York.

The Carmichael property at 4836 Marconi Ave. is called the Qoba Foundation.

Qoba’s Web site describes the foundation as an Islamic non-profit organization serving in the Sacramento area: “Beside caring for spiritual needs of the community with a range of religious programs and educational activities, Qoba Foundation also provides a number of social services such as: Halal catering, performance of Islamic marriages, certification of conversion to Islam, Islamic burial services, family consultation and mediation.”

Seizing the properties would be a sharp blow against Iran, which has been accused by the U.S. government of bankrolling terrorism and seeking a nuclear bomb.

A telephone call and e-mail to Iran’s U.N. Mission seeking comment were not immediately answered.

It is extremely rare for U.S. law enforcement authorities to seize a house of worship, a step fraught with questions about the First Amendment right to freedom of religion.

The action against the Shiite Muslim mosques is sure to inflame relations between the U.S. government and American Muslims, many of whom are fearful of a backlash after last week’s Fort Hood shooting rampage, blamed on a Muslim American soldier.

Lawyers say the Alavi Foundation has been helping to illegally funnel money to Bank Melli, which is owned by the Iranian government.

The bank is accused of funding Iran’s nuclear weapons programme. US citizens are banned from dealing with it.

The mosques and the office tower will remain open while the case continues.

The tower was built in the 1970s by a foundation
of Iran’s former shah.

In court papers filed last month, Assa asked for the case to be dismissed, saying US prosecutors were attempting to “broaden the scope of the US forfeiture laws beyond Congress’ intent”, Dow Jones said.

See Related: IRAN