The Alavi Foundation (formerly Pahlavi Foundation) is a public

not-for-profit organization A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

based in the United States. Its headquarters are in Suite 2406 of 650 Fifth Avenue in

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...

. In 2017 U.S. Federal prosecutors sanctioned the Alavi Foundation for being "controlled by the Iranian Government."

History

The Alavi Foundation is the successor organization to the Pahlavi Foundation, a nonprofit group used by Shah

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the ...

to advance

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

's charitable interests in America. Most of the charity's income is from rent collected on the Piaget Building, a skyscraper on

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The building was built in 1978 for the Shah, who was overthrown in 1979. In November 2009, federal prosecutors in the United States seized its assets. The seized assets include bank accounts; Islamic centers consisting of schools and mosques in New York City, Maryland, California and Houston; more than in Virginia; and the Piaget Building, a 36-story glass office tower in New York. Without rent from the skyscraper, the Alavi Foundation would have almost no way to continue supporting the Islamic centers, which house schools and mosques. The most recent tax records show the foundation earned $4.5 million from rents in 2007. Legal scholars 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. On April 18, 2014, the Piaget building was seized by authorities due to alleged links to the Iranian government, citing violation of American sanctions against Tehran.

Purposes

The Alavi Foundation: * Grants money to American universities including

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

to fund centers for Persian and Middle Eastern studies. *Encourages universities in North America to offer courses on Persian language, Iranian studies and the Islamic culture with a focus on Shi’ite studies; *Supports Weekend Persian Schools throughout the United States that link Iranian Americans with their Persian heritage; *Supports Islamic centers that are established and used by local Muslim communities throughout the United States; *Established a book distribution program for those unable to purchase these books on their own; *Provides funds to support disaster relief projects; *Provides funds to support Islamic and Persian arts; *Provides funds supporting scholarly research projects in Iranian and Islamic/Shi’ite studies; and *Has a student loan program.

References

External links

Alavi Foundation
{{Iran–United States relations Foundations based in the United States Iran–United States relations