The Islamic University of Madinah was founded by the government of Saudi Arabia by a royal decree in 1961 in the Islamic holy city of Medina. Many have associated the university with the Salafi ideology, and have stated it has exported Salafi-inclined theologians around the world. Other disagree and state that the institution is objectivitive and scientific, being detached to any singular ideology. The university received institutional academic accreditation without exceptions from the National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment in April 2017.

This university is designated only for Muslim male students