Institutional Heritage & Mission
Our History
Preserving a millennium of intellectual discovery and medical humanism.
Foundational Proposal (1981)
“The idea for an institute dedicated to the history of Islamic medicine was first proposed in 1981 by Dr. Bashir Zikria, then President of the Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA). It took nearly a decade to become reality.”
1981
Inception
Initial Proposal by IMANA
1990
Chapter
Formal Establishment
4+ Decades
Continuity
Archival Scholarship
Global
Influence
International Symposia
Archival Chronicle I
Founding & Institutional Genesis
A definitive timeline shift from conceptual discourse to sovereign, endowed academic institution.
1990 — Formal Establishment
Nerja Convention & Approval of IIIM
Dr. Husain Nagamia presented the concept at IMANA's International Convention in Nerja, Spain. IMANA's Executive Council approved the creation of the International Institute of Islamic Medicine (IIIM), with Dr. Nagamia as its first Chairman.
1990s–2000s — Foundation & Research
Endowment Fund, JIMA Publications & Reference Library
A donation from a North American Muslim physician established the IIIM Endowment Fund, invested according to Islamic finance principles. IIIM opened an office, began publishing research in the Journal of IMANA (JIMA), and built a reference library of nearly 1,000 books.
Global Dissemination
Conferences and Exhibitions Across the World
Over the following decades, IIIM held conferences across the US and internationally in Pakistan, the UAE, and India. Its travelling poster exhibition, featuring nearly 200 rare images and historical materials, was shown in cities including Tampa, Orlando, Detroit, Washington, DC, Dubai, Hyderabad, and London.
Exhibition Tour Host Cities & Regions
Tampa
Orlando
Detroit
Washington, DC
Dubai
Hyderabad
London
UAE
Pakistan
India
Global Dissemination
200+
Rare Historical Plates & Visual Treatises Exhibited Globally
Disseminating foundational contributions to surgery, optics, pharmacology, and ethics.
TODAY & BEYOND
Carrying the Vision Forward for Modern Generations
NIIMS is carrying that vision forward by growing its library and digital archive, expanding its webinar and field-trip programmes, and working towards the research centre Dr. Nagamia envisioned.
Digital & Physical Manuscript Archive
High-resolution conservation of ancient medical codices, surgical illustrations, and rare Quranic folios available to global scholars.
Nationwide K-12 & University Field Trips
Curated educational immersions welcoming middle schools, high schools, and medical residents to explore historical medical ethics.
International Curatorial Webinars & Research Centre
Quarterly academic symposia bridging modern clinicians with bioethicists, medical historians, and independent researchers worldwide.
Archival Chronicle II
Strategic Vision & Evolution
2016 — The Tripartite Vision
Long-Term Strategic Charter
The Board set a long-term vision built on three goals:
Permanent Home
A permanent home, ideally on a university or medical-school campus.
Lasting Academic Affiliation
Bridging medical history faculty, student curriculum, and peer-reviewed curatorial research.
Sustainable Funding
Establishing perpetual Sharia-compliant endowments to support scholarship without interruptions.
2019 — Institutional Expansion
Transition to Nagamia Institute of Islamic Medicine & Science
The Institute became NIIMS, the Nagamia Institute of Islamic Medicine and Science, expanding the work of IIIM into a broader institutional setting with elevated public exhibitions, university partnerships, and comprehensive preservation facilities.
Structural Modernization
- Physical Archives & Museum Galleries
- Joint University Curricular Residencies
Dr. Husain Fakhruddin Nagamia (1939–2021)
“This history was made possible by Dr. Husain Fakhruddin Nagamia (1939–2021), whose life’s work laid the foundation for NIIMS.”