Leading U.S. Shi'ite Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi, Based In Dearborn, Michigan Area, And His Relationship With Both The Iranian Regime And Top Current And Former U.S. Officials

Mohammad Ali Elahi, a prominent Iran-born Shi'ite cleric who heads the Shi'ite Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights, Michigan and is considered a central figure in the U.S. Shi'ite community, is known to maintain close relations with the Iranian regime. Described on the Islamic House of Wisdom website as "a powerful public speaker and an interfaith leader and peace advocate in North America,"[1] he has, over the decades, met many times with senior officials in the Iranian regime, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. He has ties to the founder of Iran's Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and as a young man was even appointed by Khomeini to a top post in the Iranian Navy. He has also met with former Iranian presidents Ali Akbar Hashemi and Hassan Rouhani.

Elahi works to strengthen the relationship between the U.S. Shi'ite community and Iran, emphasizing the values and principles of Shi'ite Islam and promoting the values of Iran's Islamic Revolution in the U.S. His meetings with current and former U.S. officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris, former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and former Secretary of State John Kerry, are amply documented.

This report will present Elahi's close relationship with top Iranian regime officials and with senior current and past officials in U.S. administrations. 

Mohammad Ali Elahi (Source: Didban Iran, December 22, 2020)

Mohammad Ali Elahi – Biography

Mohammad Ali Elahi, born in Iran, began his religious studies at the Mullah Abdallah seminary in Isfahan at age 12. He continued at the Sepah Salar institution in Tehran. In the 1970s, on the eve of Iran's Islamic Revolution, he was an anti-Shah activist, and headed political activity that included delivering speeches in mosques, including the Narmak and Wahidiya mosques in Tehran, following which he was arrested by the Shah's forces and incarcerated at Evin Prison. His political and religious involvement during this time strengthened his connection with Shi'ite revolutionary ideology and prepared him for important roles in the post-revolutionary years. 

Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Elahi was appointed to top positions in Iran's military and ideological establishment. Inter alia, he served as head of the Iranian Navy's political-ideological office – a key role to which he was appointed by the office of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. In this role, he was in charge of shaping the Islamic consciousness and identity of navy personnel. During the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88), in the port city of Abadan, he was wounded, and subsequently served in other important administrative posts in Iran.

Elahi (center, wearing glasses) with Ayatollah Khomeini (seated) at an Iranian Navy ceremony (Source: Website of the Iranian researcher Iraj Mesdaghi, Irajmesdaghi.com/maghaleh-602.html, November 21, 2015)

After the war, Elahi was chosen to establish the research center and archives of the Shahids Foundation; in this role, he gained a great deal of experience in managing educational and documentary projects connected to the national and Islamic consciousness. In 1986, he traveled to London for a year of language and Western culture studies,[2] and became a member of the editorial staff of the Tehran Times, the English-language propaganda arm of the Iranian regime that is under the supervision of the regime's Organization for Islamic Propaganda.

Immigration To The U.S. And Maintaining Ties With The Iranian Regime

In 1991, Elahi immigrated to the U.S. after receiving an offer from the Islamic Center of Detroit, which was seeking an English-speaking Shi'ite scholar. He was hired for the position, and shortly thereafter established the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights, Michigan. The institution became an important center of influence for the Shi'ite community in Michigan and one of the leading religious institutions in the U.S. Later, Elahi became a U.S. citizen, and has many U.S.-born family members.

Despite his many years in the U.S., Elahi has maintained close ties with the Iranian regime. He is a member of the Ahl El-Bayt World Assembly in the city of Qom, an Iranian organization founded by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in 1994 in an effort to expand the influence of the Iranian regime in Shi'ite communities around the world and to promote the values and ideology of Shia Islam and Iran's Islamic Revolution. The organization is active in approximately 90 countries, and maintains ties with academic institutions, human rights organizations, and social projects, with the goal of boosting Iran's international presence. The Assembly is in charge of organizing and providing religious and ideological guidance for Shi'ite communities around the world.

Elahi frequently meets with Iranian regime officials. According to the Iranian website Didban Iran, he has met with Iran's top authority – Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (no date was mentioned). He has also met with Iranian president Hassan Rouhani during his time in office as well as with former presidents Ali Akbar Rafsanjani, Mohammad Hatami, and Ibrahim Raisi, as well as with foreign minister Javad Zarif.

Mohammad Ali Elahi with former Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (Source: X account of researcher Danial Tehrany, X.com/DTehrany/status/1484881017341194247, January 22, 2022)

Mohammad Ali Elahi greets Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during their visit to New York (Source: Islamichouseofwisdom.com/outreach/2016/9/23/9-20-16-meeting-with-iranian-president-hassan-rouhani-in-new-york-city, September 20, 2016)

As an American citizen, Elahi frequently expresses his support for the Iranian regime, and has even expressed support for Lebanese Hizbullah, which has carried out terrorist attacks against U.S. and Israeli citizens. He has stated that he is "willing to shed his blood to liberate Lebanon." In addition, he presents himself as an active supporter of the positions of Islamic Revolution founder Ayatollah Khomeini and Hizbullah, and has expressed support for Hizbullah's spiritual leader Mohammad Hossein Fadlallah.[3]

Mohammad Ali Elahi meeting the grandson of the founder of the Islamic Revolution, Hassan Khomeini, as part of a meeting with the guests of the Islamic Unity Conference in Iran; Source: Jamaran, December 15, 2016.[4]

Following the election of President Biden in 2020, Elahi worked alongside the Ulama Council of Michigan, a group of Islamic scholars charged with providing religious guidance, to achieve the lifting of the economic sanctions placed on Iran by the previous Trump administration. Elahi emphasized that the sanctions were having a negative impact on holy sites and religious freedom in Iran, and stated that the Ulama Council had sent President Biden a letter calling for lifting the sanctions. In addition, he praised the efforts of the Iranian leadership, including Iran's president at the time, Hassan Rouhani and then-Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, to have the sanctions lifted and to improve living conditions in Iran.[5]

Political Ties With The U.S. Government

Elahi has successfully positioned himself not only as a religious figure, but in local and national politics as well. He has been photographed many times with U.S. government officials. On July 12, 2021, Elahi met with Vice President Kamala Harris at a Detroit event promoting COVID-19 vaccinations. A visit by VP Harris to his institution, the Islamic House of Wisdom, was planned but ultimately canceled due to local flooding.[6]

Mohammad Ali Elahi pictured with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. (Source: Detroit Free Press, July 12, 2021)

Elahi has been photographed with other top U.S. officials, including former Secretary of State John Kerry and current Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. He has also met with former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.[7]

Mohammad Ali Elahi with former Secretary of State John Kerry. ((Source: X account of researcher Danial Tehrany, X.com/DTehrany/status/1550408878243864576, January 22, 2022)

Mohammad Ali Elahi with former President Bill Clinton (Source: X account of researcher Danial Tehrany, X.com/DTehrany/status/1550408878243864576, January 22, 2022)

On December 5, 2018, Elahi was invited to open a session of the Michigan House of Representatives with a prayer, as part of an initiative by House Speaker Rep. Tom Leonard and hosted by Rep. Sylvia Santana. In his prayer, Elahi quoted Quran verses, highlighting key principles of Islam.[9]

Mohammad Ali Elahi leading prayer in the Michigan House of Representatives. (Source: Islamic House of Wisdom website, December 5, 2018)

Notably, the Manhattan-based Alavi Foundation, which was once suspected to be a secret front for the Iranian regime, has given Elahi's institution almost $500,00 since 2000, and almost $1.9 million to U.S. universities, including Columbia University.[9]