The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee took a victory lap Monday after a major Islamic charity confirmed it has cut ties with an international organization over fears of links to terrorism and antisemitic activity.
Islamic Relief USA, which bills itself as the largest Muslim charity in the country, said in court papers that it has moved to sever its participation in all activities of its former partner, Islamic Relief Worldwide.
IRUSA said it had to act after becoming convinced that its tax-exempt status would be threatened if it continued to maintain any links with IRW. It cited the Ways and Means Committee’s pressure as a major reason why the IRS was looking into the outfit.
Chairman Jason Smith celebrated the change.
“IRUSA’s decision to sever financial ties is a significant response that would never come about but for our committee’s oversight,” the Missouri Republican said.
Issues with Islamic charities have percolated for decades, but have intensified in the years since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel and the massive retaliatory attack on the Gaza Strip.
In 2024, Mr. Smith asked the IRS to review several organizations over their activities.
He said this week that some of the others he flagged, including the Americans for Justice in Palestine Educational Foundation and American Muslims for Palestine, should follow the lead of IRUSA.
“The Ways and Means Committee will not cease our efforts to expose wrongdoing in our tax-exempt sector to ensure American taxpayers are not subsidizing illegal activities,” Mr. Smith said.
IRW, based in the U.K., bills itself as the center of a federation of relief agencies. On its website’s “where we work” section, it says it’s active in eight countries in Asia, 10 in Africa, four in Europe and six in the Middle East.
Mr. Smith said Israel has accused IRW of funneling money to Hamas, and the State Department in 2020 cut ties with IRW over antisemitism concerns.
IRUSA is a 501(c)(3) charity that used to partner with IRW, but has taken steps to divorce itself starting in 2019, when it signed agreements of separation.
In September 2024, 11 months after Hamas attacked Israel, Mr. Smith asked the IRS to investigate IRUSA’s ties to IRW, citing the global body’s potential support for terrorist organizations.
He renewed the request in October 2025.
IRUSA said there’s no evidence that it assisted any of the global organization’s questionable projects, but the U.S. outfit said it asked IRW to engage in negotiations to ensure a full separation.
In a lawsuit filed against IRW last week, IRUSA said the global organization has refused to enter into negotiations. Even more egregious, the U.S. outfit said, IRW has started fundraising in the U.S., confusing American donors.
“IRW’s conduct has deliberately and maliciously jeopardized IRUSA’s reputation and mission through fraudulent and illegal conduct,” the U.S. organization said in the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan.
IRW, in a statement, told The Washington Times that it operates as “a purely humanitarian organization” and rejects the accusation that its assistance has been funneled to support terrorist organizations.
“We do not recognize that characterization of our organization and have consistently rejected such claims. Islamic Relief operates to high standards of governance, compliance and oversight across all our programs,” the organization said.
The Washington Times has sought comment from IRUSA for this story.
