HOUSTON -- A group protested at the Islamic Education Center of Houston, one of four mosques the federal government is trying to seize, KPRC Local 2 reported Friday.

The government is also trying to seize a New York office building. All of the properties are owned by the Alavi Foundation, which the U.S. government contends is a front for the Iranian government. The U.S. government said it is a front used to by Iran to fund its nuclear weapons program.

Federal prosecutors in New York want to seize the Islamic Education Center of Houston, located at 2313 South Voss Road, along with mosques in Maryland, New York and California.

The prosecutors claim millions of dollars in rental income from the mosques and the Manhattan office building have been funneled back to Iran by the Alavi Foundation. Officials said they believe the money is being used to develop nuclear weapons.

The Houston Islamic Center's chairman said the mosque and school is merely a tenant and has no other connection with the foundation.

"We are leasing this building from Alavi Foundation," said Faheem Kazimi, chairman of the Islamic Education Center's board. "We are an independent organization. We have no affiliation with any of the other locations. Its a local nonprofit organization and we run a full-time school here. We provide community services and a place for worship."

About two dozen Iranian-Americans protested the mosque to show their support of the seizure. They waved flags and banners in the parking lot next door and chanted as members of the mosque arrived for noon prayers.

They said they have been protesting the mosque for years because mosque officials have known that the Iranian government had ties to the building.

The federal allegations come at a bad time for Houston's Muslim community. Some were already concerned about a backlash in the wake of the Fort Hood shootings, blamed on an American Muslim soldier.

The head of Houston's Islamic Society said the entire community should not be blamed for the acts of a few.

"I don't see that these isolated incidents should reflect," Dr. Aziz Siddiqui said. "Most of the people are educated and they know that single person, whether it could be any religion, does not reflect on the entire community."

It is extremely rare for the federal government to seek to seize any house of worship. While the civil case is working its way through New York's federal court, all of the mosques will remain open.