Thread: Feds move to seize 4 mosques, NYC skyscraper

Feds move to seize 4 mosques, NYC skyscraper

Updated 1m ago

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors are taking steps to seize four U.S. mosques and a New York City skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization.

The organization — called the Alavi Foundation — has long been suspected of being under Iranian government control. Prosecutors say the foundation has been helping to illegally funnel money back to the Iranian government.

The government filed a forfeiture action in federal court in New York to seize four mosques in the city and in Maryland, California and Houston. The government also wants to take control of a 36-story office tower on New York's Fifth Avenue.

The filing starts what could be a drawn-out legal process.

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

The mosques and the office tower will remain open while the forfeiture case works its way through court.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/200 ... ized_N.htm

Well, well, well.

IT IS ABOUT TIME!! I bet this starts a new trend.

If only we could get the feds to seize every business that hires illegal aliens.

And then seize every place that illegal aliens live.

Repo it all.

Take our country back from the millions of illegal alien invaders.

Some good news about our law enforcement agencies. But they always throw in that BIT about feelings between us and them! If they ARE ILLEGALLY operating a money laundering service then close them down. Very simple....

I bet Obama isnt happy about this at all.

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Repo it all

REPO IT ALL!!

Yep. If they started seizing businesses that hire illegals....that nonsense would stop right away. I am glad SOMEONE is finally showing some spirit.

Originally Posted by redpony353

Well, well, well.

IT IS ABOUT TIME!! I bet this starts a new trend.

We can only hope it will start a new trend...
like looking into what is being taught in mosques and if they are teaching radical Islamic acts like the shooter at Ft. Hood carried out, they should be shut down. The fear of offending any group is making our country more dangerous all the time. It is time every one woke up to the fact that there is a huge difference in Muslims and their faith and the Radical Muslims and their lust for Jihad.

Alavi Foundation Is Iran Front, US Says in Lawsuit‎ - 1 hour ago
12 (Bloomberg) -- The Alavi Foundation, part owner of a 36-story New York office tower, is a front for the government of Iran, the US government alleged in ...Bloomberg - 457 related articles »


Alavi Foundation | AlaviFoundation.org

The Alavi Foundation is a private not-for-profit organization devoted to the promotion and support of Islamic culture and Persian language, literature and ...
www.alavifoundation.org/ - Cached - Similar

Feds move to seize 4 mosques, tower linked to Iran

Nov 12, 5:28 PM (ET)

By ADAM GOLDMAN

NEW YORK (AP) - 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.

In what could prove to be one of the biggest counterterrorism seizures in U.S. history, prosecutors filed a civil complaint in federal court seeking the forfeiture of more than $500 million in assets of the Alavi Foundation and an alleged front company.

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

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.

The mosques and the office tower will remain open while the forfeiture case works its way through court in what could be a long process. What will happen to them if the government ultimately prevails is unclear. But the government typically sells properties it has seized through forfeiture, and the proceeds are sometimes distributed to crime victims.

There were no raids Thursday as part of the forfeiture action. The government is simply required to post notices of the civil complaint on the property.

Prosecutors said the Alavi Foundation, through a front company known as Assa Corp., illegally funneled millions in rental income back to Iran's state-owned Bank Melli. Bank Melli has been accused by a U.S. Treasury official of providing support for Iran's nuclear program, and it is illegal in the United States to do business with the bank.

Government officials have long suspected the foundation was an arm of the Iranian government; a 97-page complaint details involvement of several top officials in foundation business, including the country's deputy prime minister and ambassadors to the United Nations.

"For two decades, the Alavi Foundation's affairs have been directed by various Iranian officials, including Iranian ambassadors to the United Nations, in violation of a series of American laws," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.

The skyscraper, known as the Piaget building, was erected in the 1970s under the shah of Iran, who was overthrown in 1979. The tenants include law and investment firms and other businesses.

The sleek, modern building, last valued at $570 million to $650 million in 2007, has served as important source of income for the foundation over the past 36 years. The most recent tax records show the foundation earned $4.5 million from rents in 2007.

Rents collected from the building help fund the centers and other ventures, such as sending imprisoned Muslims in the U.S. educational literature. The foundation has also invested in dozens of mosques around the country and supported Iranian academics at prominent universities.

If federal prosecutors seize the skyscraper, the Alavi Foundation would have almost no way to continue supporting the Islamic centers, which house schools and mosques. That could leave a major void in Shiite communities, and hard feelings toward the FBI.

Legal scholars who specialize in religious liberty issues said they know of only a few cases in U.S. history in which law enforcement authorities have seized a house of worship. Marc Stern, a religious-liberty expert with the American Jewish Congress, called such cases "extremely rare."

The Alavi Foundation is the successor organization to the Pahlavi Foundation, a nonprofit group used by the shah to advance Iran's charitable interests in America. But authorities said its agenda changed after the fall of the shah.

In 2007, the United States accused Bank Melli of providing services to Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs and put the bank on its list of companies whose assets must be frozen.

The United States has imposed sanctions against various other Iranian banks and other businesses.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20091112/D9BUA83.html


http://www.alavifoundation.org