After eight Indiana lawmakers alleged IU’s Muslim Philanthropy Initiative collaborated with an organization the U.S. Treasury identified as financially connected to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, IU conducted an initial investigation which confirmed a relationship between MPI and the group.
In a response IU sent to Indiana lawmakers last Friday, IU said it had found the MPI worked with a U.S. based non-profit which recommended it partner with Hayat Yolu.
The U.S. Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Hayat Yolu, alongside three Turkish nonprofits, as “sham” charities that allegedly “provided significant material support to Hamas.” Hamas raises money overseas in part through a network of nonprofits that channel funds and other assets through Hamas-controlled charities in Gaza, a March 12 press release from the office said.
The MPI has not engaged with Hayat Yolu Association, a Turkish humanitarian organization, following the release. The MPI started as a project of Lilly Family School of Philanthropy Dean Amir Pasic and Lake Institute on Faith and Giving, one of the school's five affiliated philanthropy groups that focuses on research, education and conversation to “reflect and support the diversity of religious expression in the American context.”
In late March, eight Indiana state representatives demanded a formal investigation into MPI, citing “public reporting” as basis for alleged ties between the philanthropy group and Hayat Yolu.
In interviews conducted by IU’s Office of the General Counsel, MPI Director Shariq Siddiqui said United Mission for Relief and Development recommended Hayat Yolu as a local partner. Siddiqui told the university that UMRD confirmed Hayat Yolu was a “legitimate organization” and no concerns arose through independent research and consultation of “trusted contacts” in his network, according to IU’s response.
IU’s investigation found Hayat Yolu reimbursed Siddiqui’s flights, hotels, transportation and meals for July 2025 and January 2026 programs in Istanbul and Indonesia through its relationship with UMRD.
The U.S. Treasury OFAC also identified Hayat Yolu as an “operational headquarters, banking and financial hub” for the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Egyptian and Jordanian branches of the Muslim Brotherhood were designated as terrorist organizations due to their “material support” of Hamas, according to a January U.S. Treasury OFAC press release. The Muslim Brotherhood has affiliates in over 70 countries.
Because it had not engaged with Hayat Yolu post-OFAC designation, IU’s initial investigation determined MPI’s actions have not violated federal or state laws.
The university also reported that, to date, it applied a “highly decentralized approach” with regards to “potentially high-risk" partnerships or relationships.
Vice President of Government and Community Relations Shannon Kiely Heider wrote to Indiana lawmakers that the university would expand the role of the IU Research Security Office to be a resource for those considering high-risk partnerships or relationships as part of how IU plans to remedy its approach. The office primarily assesses security risks to the university’s research enterprise, and Heider wrote IU would also implement training for faculty and staff involved in international partnerships.
Heider wrote it would also direct Pasic to review oversight for MPI and to consider merging activities relating to Muslim philanthropy within the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving.
Reps. Andrew Ireland and Garrett Bascom, Muslim Philanthropy Initiative, Siddiqui, UMRD, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy spokesperson Susan Guibert and IU spokesperson Mark Bode did not respond to requests for comment by time of publication.
“I appreciate IU taking this seriously,” Ireland said on X. “These are good first steps, but there is more work to do.”
