During the period that Imam was in Najaf, a number of people from Iran took their Khums (Sehme Imam) money to him. It amounted to quite a sum. At that time, they asked Imam, "We want to build a mosque here in the local vicinity. Do you give us permission to spend some of this money to build it?" Imam replied: "No I do not give permission."
The people pleaded. Imam said, "Muslims of each vicinity should build their own mosque because mosques belong to them. I cannot give you this Sehme Imam to build the mosque. Does it make sense that I would pay for the mohrs you use? The mosque is your property. You have to meet its costs."
(A memoirs by Ayatollah Ma'arifat)