Islamia, as it has been known for over 50 years, is the largest multi-specialty eye hospital in Bangladesh. The emphasis is on quality eye care for all socio-economic sections of society. The treatment for every patient is of the same quality, though the facilities vary according to the choice the patient makes. There are general facilities at very low cost, as well as private facilities, which are more comfortable and upscale.

Ispahani Islamia Eye Institute and Hospital began as a charitable dispensary founded by the late Mr. M. A. Ispahani, an industrialist and philanthropist. It then developed into an eye hospital in 1960, the first of its kind in Bangladesh, and has always been a non-profit organization.

Apart from its basic ophthalmic services, it also pioneered various tertiary ophthalmic super-specialties. At the same time, Islamia Eye Hospital, as it was then known, started providing training to increase the human resource capacity for ophthalmic services in Bangladesh.

From this concept, the M. A. Ispahani Institute of Ophthalmology was established as a sister organization in 1992 to teach advanced ophthalmology to ophthalmic surgeons, as well as to paramedics and nurses. Over the years, Islamia has established itself as a leading ophthalmic organization in Bangladesh for providing specialized services and training courses.

A recent development of Islamia has been the establishment of three branch hospitals in remote districts of Bangladesh (Jamalpur, Barisal, and Naogaon) under a project entitled “Creating Access to Eye Care Services for Rural People”. This project was initiated and has been supported by ORBIS International.