Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA)

The group was founded in 1967 and assisted in the formation of the Federation of Islamic Medical Associations (FIMA) and the International Institute of Muslim Medicine (IIIM). The group is also affiliated with the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). The organization acts in a manner similar to many other medical societies: it operates a medical journal and provides accredited continuing medical education training courses. ^{1 2}

Background

The Islamic Medical Association of North America was founded in 1967 following a meeting of the Muslim Students Association (MSA), where Muslim physicians in attendance established the Muslim Medical Association as a branch of the MSA. In 1968, members of the Muslim Medical Association formed the Islamic Medication Association of the United States and Canada as a separate entity. The new association was promptly renamed the Islamic Medical Association of North America upon its formal organization and has been known by that name since. ²

IMANA is alleged to have or have had connections to the Muslim Brotherhood. A 1991 U.S. Muslim Brotherhood memo, which defined its goal as waging “a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within,” mentioned IMANA in a list of “our organizations and the organizations of our friends.” ³

Programs

Like many other medical societies, the Islamic Medical Association of North America produces research regarding medical practices and published an academic medical journal called the Journal of the Islamic Medical Association. The group also provides humanitarian funding and grants to local organizations. ^{2 1}

A faith-based organization, the IMANA includes religious language in some of its publications. A COVID-19 reopening guide for mosques co-written by the group included a bullet point stating, “Allah (SWT) sends down both disease and cure, and that we must believe in His Divine Wisdom and pray for Divine deliverance from this trial. ” ⁴

The organization operates continuing education programs that are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). ¹

Funding

Recent grant recipients of the Islamic Medical Association of North America include the Shifa Care Clinic in Augusta, Georgia, the Initiative on Islam and Medicine, and Muslim American Social Services. ⁵