A UK-based charity accused of links to the Muslim Brotherhood is being sued by its US partner, which wants to sever all ties after alleging that terrorism claims have damaged its reputation.
Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA) said it began “necessary and immediate steps” to split from its sister organisation, Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW), after coming under the spotlight from Congress and US authorities.
Allegations made by the US charity against IRW in filings to a New York court include that it fraudulently sought to damage IRUSA's reputation by making up a claim it had withdrawn support for hundreds of orphans.
IRUSA alleges the UK-charity “piggybacked” on its reputation to raise money in the US in contravention of regulations.
The US organisation is looking to annul all the formal agreements it has with IRW, including over the channelling of funding for humanitarian aid.
It also accuses IRW of withholding $6.4 million it provided for projects, which it wants returned, and is seeking compensation for what it alleges is the UK organisation's “wilful, wanton, intentional, and malicious conduct”.
Allegations that Islamic Relief Worldwide had supported terrorism have circulated in Washington since late 2020 and the State Department subsequently said it no longer partnered with IRW.
Islamic Relief was sanctioned by the UAE in 2014 and placed on a list of terrorist organisations over its alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. The charity denies the accusation.
Three senior figures left IRW in 2020 when the UK regulator said they had made social media posts that broke the charity’s code of conduct and fell far below the standard the public expects of charity trustees and staff.
IRUSA said it had historically been an independent partner of IRW, a charity registered in the United Kingdom, but in October 2025 announced it wanted to sever all ties.
“Various federal and government entities have raised multiple and significant concerns about IRW and its practices," says the court filing. "Both Israel and the United Arab Emirates have sanctioned IRW.”
IRUSA, described as America’s largest Muslim charity, was told by various government organisations that its tax-exempt status would be threatened if it continued to maintain any operational or institutional relationships with IRW.
In September 2024, the chairman of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee requested that the Internal Revenue Service investigate IRUSA for possible termination of its tax-exempt status as a charity.
“The reasons for that request had to do solely with ... IRW’s alleged statements and actions in support of purported terrorist organisations,” IRUSA said in its court filings.
Given that these allegations would be attributable to IRUSA, this would “affect negatively IRUSA’s well-deserved good reputation in the US”.
As it sought to distance itself from the UK-based charity, IRUSA accused IRW of attempting to undermine it in other ways.
In an effort to “punish IRUSA for its independence”, IRW “illegally and fraudulently created records supporting the false inference” that the US charity staff had “taken actions to abandon the benefits for and sponsorship of hundreds of orphans”, the US organisation alleges.
“This cancellation was done with a malicious twist, falsely and without authorisation using the email of an IRUSA employee to create a record that suggested that IRUSA was taking the action to cancel all of the orphan sponsorships."
IRUSA says it wanted to support the orphans but its programme needed to be managed by “an organisation not the focus of government scrutiny for alleged terrorist links or statements supportive of terrorism. IRW refused to engage in such discussions”.
The effect was that that 645 orphans from Albania, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iraq, Malawi, Mali and Pakistan, who had been previously sponsored through IRUSA and its donors, had their humanitarian benefits cancelled because IRW falsely stated there was no donor available.
The US charity also alleges IRW’s “purposeful – and illegal – solicitation of donors in the United States has increased dramatically in late 2025 and early this year” caused confusion among donors and had a “devastating impact” its fund-raising efforts.
IRW is registered as a charity in the UK but not as one in the United States and donations to it directly are not permitted.
ISUSA alleges that “numerous donors” have contacted them to say they had mistakenly donated to IRW. As a result Ramadan donations were down 50 per cent this year, says IRUSA.
In the filing IRUSA is described as a “wholly independent and autonomous organisation” with its own staff that has historically been an independent partner of IRW.
It struck agreements with IRW to channel humanitarian aid where there are IRW offices and personnel that can assist in implementing grants using funds provided by IRUSA.
The agreements contain precautions that no funds will be used to “support or promote violence, terrorist activity or related training,
The latest IRW report which covers 2024 says IRUSA is one of IRW's “members” which are “registered as independent legal entities”.
"We cannot comment in detail on continuing legal proceedings but strongly reject the claims put to us here," said a representative.
"We have no affiliation with any political movement – proscribed or otherwise," said the representative.
"Islamic Relief stands firm against extremism, especially as our own humanitarian workers have been killed in terrorist attacks. Our focus remains on delivering humanitarian support to those in need worldwide."
