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Worshippers at the Islamic Education Center in Potomac fear their mosque may be forced to close its doors now that federal prosecutors have moved for the property's forfeiture.

The prosecutors are claiming that the owners of the center's Montrose Road building have ties to the Iranian government, but local Muslims say the potential seizure raises civil liberties concerns.

Last Thursday, an amended civil forfeiture complaint was filed in a New York federal court, seeking the forfeiture of the center and other property including land in Prince William County, Va., a Manhattan high-rise building, and Islamic centers in Houston, Queens, N.Y., and California. The link between the assets, prosecutors claim, is the New York-based Alavi Foundation. They allege the group is a front for the Iranian government and has funneled money to the Iranian Bank Melli, which has been identified by the United States, the European Union and Australia for its role in Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, according to a March statement from the U.S. Treasury Department.

The Alavi Foundation is listed as the owner of the Montrose Road property, according to Montgomery County tax records. The site also includes the Muslim Community School, which serves about 130 students in grades kindergarten through 12th grade. Many of the children learn Farsi during Saturday language classes and take religious classes on Sunday, according to the groups' Web site. Also located on the site is a volunteer-based medical clinic that serves uninsured and underinsured county residents, the Web site reads.

The Islamic Education Center has served a community of "several hundred Muslim families" since 1981, according to the site.

The civil complaint launches court proceedings through which the prosecutors will seek the forfeitures, and in the meantime, the Islamic Education Center remains open. The occupants of the properties "remain free to use the properties as they have before today's filing," Yusill Scribner, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement last Thursday.

"There are no allegations of any wrongdoing on the part of any of these tenants or occupants," the statement said.

If a court finds in favor of the prosecutors, the building could be confiscated.

Outside the Potomac center on Friday afternoon, worshippers railed against any potential for a seizure of the center. "To close the door of a house of worship to the people is not right," said Esmat Watson, a worshipper who was attending Friday prayer services there.

Watson said she felt the Muslim community was being targeted, and that political actions should not be allowed to affect religious activity. "This is a place we come to worship our creator," she said. "Let the politics go someplace else."

Worshippers said they were "shocked" at the allegations. "There's a school here, there's a clinic that helps the community," said Shahram Bahrami, 18, who works at the clinic. "I don't understand the reasoning."

"I have been coming here nine or 10 years, and I have not seen anything, not any kind of a problem," said worshipper Tawfit Abbas.

The Gaithersburg-based Islamic Center of Maryland has also raised concerns about the potential seizure. "We are very concerned about the process initiated and how it may end up affecting IEC and its occupants," said M. Nadeem Ahmad, chairman of the group's board of trustees, in a statement. "While the authorities assert that they aren't going after the tenants, the process may end up shutting down the operation leaving over a hundred and fifty students and a number of area residents who benefit from the services stranded and helpless."

The move comes in the aftermath of the deadly shooting at Fort Hood, alleged to have been perpetrated by Maj. Nidal M. Hasan, a Muslim psychiatrist. County Muslims have recently raised concerns that the Fort Hood shootings may stir anti-Muslim prejudices.

Rashid Makhdoom, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Muslim Foundation, said he wasn't sure if he felt the Muslim community was being targeted. However, "The timing is a little odd to me, coming a week after the Fort Hood incident," he said.

The potential forfeitures raised questions about freedom of religion, a first amendment right, he said.

"I never expected that any of the U.S. government agencies would go after the freedom of religion, curtailing anybody's rights — not just Muslims — to pray as they want to," he said. "It's definitely going to impact Muslim relations towards the government agencies who are taking these actions."