Indiana University philanthropy unit allegedly trained with group now sanctioned as Hamas 'sham charity'

In July 2025 and January this year, Indiana University's (IU) Muslim Philanthropy Initiative co-hosted international fundraising training events with a Turkish nonprofit that was designated this month as a Hamas-financing "sham charity” by the U.S. Treasury Department, according to The Washington Free Beacon.

The department described the Istanbul-based nonprofit Hayat Yolu as providing "significant material support to Hamas" and "an operational headquarters, banking and financial hub for the Muslim Brotherhood” on March 12, according to the report. 

Indiana’s initiative and Hayat Yolu co-organized at least two multi-day fundraising training programs — one in Istanbul in July 2025, and a second in Jakarta in January 2026. Shariq Siddiqui, the initiative's director and an IU assistant professor, led both events. 

According to FOX News, Siddiqui described his goal at the January Jakarta training as creating a "domino effect" — equipping participants to return home and pass the fundraising methods on to others. Hayat Yolu publicly described itself as a humanitarian organization distributing aid to Gaza.

After the Free Beacon reached out for comment, Siddiqui deleted his LinkedIn post about the Istanbul event, and the initiative removed its annual report from its website, according to the outlet. 

"Hamas continues to finance its military wing by exploiting sham charities to support terrorist operations," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the March 12 sanctions announcement. "The Treasury Department will not allow Hamas to misuse the charitable sector for its violent aims."

The department also noted in the same announcement: "Hamas's continued reliance on these types of organizations highlights the duplicity of its leaders, who prey on donors' sympathies to siphon large sums of money into prolonging the suffering of Palestinians."