Pillars Fund hundreds of grant applications it receives each year. Pillars Fund Pillars Fund is a grant-making organization and Muslim community foundation named in reference to the five pillars of Islam, the third of which is Zakat. Founded in 2010 in the mold of United Way and Jewish Federations of North America, and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Pillars is focused on funding secular non-profit programs supporting American Muslims in media, public relations, and leadership development. It is one of the largest funders of Muslim issues in the United States. Pillars Fund is governed by a Board of Advisors, many of whom are
Muslim conquest of Persia were Sunni Muslims, though today Iran is known as a stronghold of the Shi'a Muslim faith, recognizing Islam as their religion and the prophet's son in law, Ali as an enduring symbol of justice. According to Amoretti in Cambridge History of Islam, the Arab conquerors brought with them a new religion and a new language, but they did not use force to spread it. While giving freedom of choice, however, the Arab conquerors designated privileges for those who converted. During the Rashidun Caliphate, the official language of Persia (including Mesopotamia) remained Middle Persian (Pahlavi), just as the official languages of