Muslim groups express concern about seized mosques

Federal authorities said Thursday's move to seize the assets of the New York-based Alavi Foundation over alleged Iranian ties should not effect the activities of the organization's many tenants, which include mosques in Maryland, New York, Texas, and California. The forfeiture action, however, is raising concerns about religious freedom among Muslims, many of whom already say government counterterrorism efforts unfairly tarnish the vast majority of law abiding Muslims. "As a civil rights organization we are concerned that the seizure of American houses of worship could have a chilling effect on the religious freedom of citizens of all faiths and may send a negative message to Muslims worldwide," the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in a statement. The move puts average Muslims at the center of the political dispute between Tehran and Washington, said Imam Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society's Freedom Foundation. "The American Muslim and faith communities must not allow houses of worship to become pawns in geopolitical struggles," Imam Bray told CNN. "The tension between the United States and Iran must not be played out in the mosques of America."