BLOOMINGTON, Ind. ( WOWO) — Indiana University has closed its Muslim Philanthropy Initiative following an internal review of the program’s relationship with an overseas organization later sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

The university’s decision follows months of scrutiny over the initiative’s partnership with Hayat Yolu, an organization the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated in March as part of what federal officials described as Hamas’ international fundraising infrastructure.

State Rep. Andrew Ireland, R-Indianapolis, who led a group of eight Indiana lawmakers calling for an investigation into the partnership, said the university made the correct decision by ending the program.

“Indiana University made the right decision by closing the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative,” Ireland said. “A taxpayer-supported university should never lend its name, expertise or credibility to an organization connected to the financial network of a terrorist group.”

Ireland added that the issue went beyond administrative concerns.

“This was not a minor paperwork problem,” he said. “IU personnel traveled overseas to partner with and conduct programs alongside Hayat Yolu, and the organization paid travel expenses associated with those programs. Once the facts became known, the university had a responsibility to investigate, end the relationship and make structural changes. Permanently shutting down this program is the appropriate result.”

On March 12, the Treasury Department sanctioned Hayat Yolu along with three other organizations. Federal officials said Hayat Yolu had provided significant material support to Hamas and was part of a network that generated revenue for the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing. Treasury also identified the organization as an operational headquarters and financial hub for the Muslim Brotherhood.

Under federal sanctions, property and financial interests connected to the organization that fall under U.S. jurisdiction are generally blocked, and most transactions involving the organization by U.S. persons are prohibited.

Following the sanctions announcement, Ireland and seven other Republican state lawmakers sent a letter to IU President Pamela Whitten and Lilly Family School of Philanthropy Dean Amir Pasic requesting a formal investigation.

The lawmakers asked the university to investigate its relationship with Hayat Yolu, preserve records and communications, suspend any ongoing partnership, disclose any financial or travel support received from the organization, identify university personnel involved in the overseas programs, explain what due diligence was conducted before the partnership began and determine whether additional reporting to state or federal authorities was necessary.

“Public universities have a heightened responsibility to know whom they are working with, particularly when they are providing fundraising or organizational expertise overseas,” Ireland said. “When federal authorities identify a university partner as part of a terrorist-financing network, legislators and taxpayers are entitled to immediate and complete answers.”

Indiana University’s Office of the General Counsel launched an internal investigation and placed relevant records under a legal hold.

In an April 3 response to lawmakers, the university confirmed that the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative began working with Hayat Yolu after receiving a recommendation from the U.S.-based United Mission for Relief and Development.

The university said initiative staff participated in programs with Hayat Yolu in Istanbul, Turkey, in July 2025 and Jakarta, Indonesia, in January 2026.

IU also confirmed that Hayat Yolu reimbursed Muslim Philanthropy Initiative Director Shariq Siddiqui for travel expenses, including airfare, lodging, meals and ground transportation associated with those programs.

As part of its review, the university suspended the initiative’s convening and training activities, halted new partnerships and began evaluating existing international relationships.

IU also acknowledged that its oversight of potentially high-risk international partnerships had historically been decentralized. The university said it would expand the role of its Research Security Office, provide additional employee training related to international partnerships and review oversight procedures.

The university has now formally closed the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative.

“This outcome shows why legislative oversight matters,” Ireland said. “We demanded answers, IU investigated, and the university has now closed the entire program. That is what accountability is supposed to look like.”

The Hayat Yolu controversy was not the first time the initiative faced questions about its vetting process.

In 2022, the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative hosted a program featuring Sami Al-Arian, who previously pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to provide services to Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization.

Following criticism of that event, Dean Amir Pasic apologized and acknowledged that the school had failed to conduct adequate due diligence before inviting Al-Arian.

“After the 2022 incident, IU publicly acknowledged a due-diligence failure and promised stronger procedures,” Ireland said. “The subsequent relationship with Hayat Yolu demonstrated that those protections were not sufficient.”