The Islamic initiative, an arm of IU’s School of Philanthropy, organized multiple events with Istanbul-based nonprofit Hayat Yolu Association
An Islamic think tank at Indiana University has hosted multiple fundraising training events for a Turkish nonprofit that the U.S. government says is a “sham charity” secretly bankrolling the terrorist group Hamas.
The Muslim Philanthropy Initiative, a unit of Indiana’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, organized events in July 2025 and this January with Hayat Yolu Association, an Istanbul-based nonprofit that claims to distribute humanitarian aid to Gaza and other war-torn Muslim areas.
The events were part of the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative’s training sessions to help international Islamic NGOs “refine their fundraising strategies, improve performance, and more effectively advance their missions.”
But in the case of Hayat Yolu, that mission allegedly involves secretly funding the terrorist group Hamas.
The Treasury Department sanctioned Hayat Yolu earlier this month as a “sham charity” that has “provided significant material support to Hamas.” The group has been “involved in Hamas’ international funding network that enables Hamas to generate external revenue in direct support of Hamas’ military wing” and served as an “operational headquarters, banking and financial hub for the Muslim Brotherhood,” according to the Treasury Department.
“The Treasury Department will not allow Hamas to misuse the charitable sector for its violent aims, and we will continue to target these networks wherever they operate,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week.
It’s not the first time Indiana’s Muslim Philanthropy Initiative has been linked to funders of terrorist activity. In 2022, the initiative hosted Sami Al-Arian, a former South Florida professor who pleaded guilty to conspiring with the terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad, to speak about Muslim charities in the wake of 9/11. A dean at the Indiana University school of philanthropy apologized after the event for hosting Al-Arian, saying the school “failed in our due diligence.” Yaqub Mirza, a longtime donor to the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative and member of its council of advisers, was investigated in the early 2000s for allegedly funding terrorist activity.
The Muslim Philanthropy Initiative’s conferences with Hayat Yolu were led by Shariq Siddiqui, the director of the initiative and a longtime researcher on Islamic philanthropy.
“We’re incredibly grateful to our host and partner, Hayat Yolu Association, for their hospitality and support,” Siddiqui wrote on LinkedIn after the event in July, in which nearly 70 participants took part in the three-day conference.
Siddiqui organized another Hayat Yolu conference in January in Jakarta, Indonesia, that brought together more than 80 officials from Islamic nonprofits. “The first two days concentrate on fundraising, particularly on how to raise money systematically, professionally, and scientifically,” said Siddiqui.
Hayat Yolu deputy director Ahmad Abu Adam said the training conference would equip his group and others to better raise money for the organizations.
“As we have done in Turkey, we are working to enhance the capabilities of our partners in Indonesia. This includes learning new techniques in management, leadership, and fundraising based on the latest research,” said Adam, according to a report about the event.
It is unclear if Hayat Yolu provided any funding to Indiana University or the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative to host the conferences, though the initiative thanked Hayat Yolu in its recent annual report for its “generous support.” Hayat Yolu, which has deleted many of its social media accounts, did not respond to a request for comment. Indiana University and the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative did not respond to comment requests. Siddiqui removed his LinkedIn post about the Istanbul event, and the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative removed its annual report from its website after the Washington Free Beacon reached out for comment.
According to Muslim Philanthropy Initiative, the group has trained more than 3,500 Muslim nonprofit professionals in 30 countries since 2018. Last year, the group attended the Doha Forum, an annual conclave funded by the Hamas-aligned Qatari monarchy.