[1][2] It was founded in 1978 by Dr. Syed Zainul Abedin,[3] Dr. Saleha Mahmood Abedin's husband, who is from India, and who was educated at Aligarh Muslim University and University of Pennsylvania.

Abdullah Omar Naseef, then president of the Muslim World League and president of King Abdulaziz University, provided backing to Abedin for the institute's formation.

[4] In 1979, the Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs launched the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, a peer-reviewed journal published by Taylor & Francis.

It is the only scholarly journal dedicated to research on Muslims as minorities within non-Muslim societies.

[6] CNN reported that those familiar with the journal described it as "scholarly, academic and nonpartisan" and that its content "does not raise red flags.