The Islamic Medical Association of North America
Encyclopedia
The Islamic Medical Association of North America ("IMANA") is the largest Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 medical organization in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

.

It was founded in 1967 in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 and is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the ideals of Islamic medicine
Islamic medicine
In the history of medicine, Islamic medicine, Arabic medicine or Arabian medicine refers to medicine developed in the Islamic Golden Age, and written in Arabic, the lingua franca of Islamic civilization....

. The mission of IMANA is to provide a forum and resource for Muslim physicians and other health care professionals in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. IMANA seeks to promote a greater awareness of Islamic medical ethics and values among Muslims and the community-at-large, to provide humanitarian and medical relief, and to be an advocate in health care policy. The current headquarters for the organization is located in Lombard, Illinois
Lombard, Illinois
Lombard, "The Lilac Village", is a suburb of Chicago in DuPage County, Illinois. The population was 42,322 at the 2000 census. The United States Census Bureau estimated the population in 2004 to be 42,975.-History:...

.

IMANA is the charter member of the Federation of Islamic Medical Associations, along with 26 other Islamic Medical Associations around the world.

Relief Efforts

IMANA is known for its relief efforts in various locales around the world, such as Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

 and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

. After the tsunami
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...

 hit Indonesia in December 2004, IMANA sent a medical relief team to the region, and shortly thereafter established a clinic to replace several hospitals in Banda Aceh that had been destroyed.

More recently, IMANA has been working with the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association
Pakistan Islamic Medical Association
Pakistan Islamic Medical Association is the largest organization of Muslim doctors of Pakistan. Since its foundation in 1979 PIMA membership has steadily grown and now stands at over 3500 full members. PIMA is a registered NGO with its own Constitution...

 (PIMA) to provide medical relief for the victims of the Kashmir Earthquake. They have provided a significant amount of money through donations. In addition, they are sending medical relief teams to the region, consisting of doctors and healthcare professionals from all over North America.

In January 2010, the IMANA relief committee initiated an effort in Haiti after the earthquake centered near Port-au-Prince. The effort, coordinated with other groups, allowed several teams of physicians and surgeons to treat patients in Port-au-Prince.

Conventions

IMANA has several medical conventions per year, including the annual convention. Every other year, the convention is held internationally. Previous conventions have taken place in locations such as Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, and Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

. The 2006 International Convention was held in Beijing, China. The 40th annual convention was held in Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 from July 17-22, 2007.

Speakers at various IMANA conferences have included notable physicians, medical professionals, Muslims in various fields and government dignitaries.

The 2008 meeting will be the first joint meeting with FIMA (the Federation of Islamic Medical Associations) to be held in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

.

Publications

The Journal of the Islamic Medical Association (JIMA) is IMANA's quarterly medical publication. JIMA is a nationally recognized medical journal published quarterly.

IMANA also publishes a quarterly newsletter.
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