Publication Ethics

Z-Islamica: Journal of Islamic Studies is a peer-reviewed open access journal that upholds the highest standards of publication ethics. This statement outlines the ethical responsibilities of all parties involved in the publication process: authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher. The ethics policy of Z-Islamica is guided by the COPE Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.

Duties of Editors

1. Fair Evaluation: Editors evaluate submitted manuscripts solely on the basis of their academic merit, originality, clarity, and relevance to the journal's scope, without discrimination based on the authors’ race, gender, religious belief, ethnicity, or political philosophy.

2. Confidentiality: Editors and editorial staff must not disclose any information about a manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, or the publisher.

3. Publication Decisions: The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for deciding which articles submitted to the journal should be published, based on the reviewers' reports and the journal’s editorial policies.

4. Conflict of Interest: Editors must not use unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript for their own research without the author’s express written consent.

Duties of Reviewers

1. Contribution to Editorial Decision: Peer reviewers assist editors in making editorial decisions and provide constructive feedback to help authors improve their manuscripts.

2. Confidentiality: Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents.

3. Objectivity: Reviews must be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate.

4. Acknowledgement of Sources: Reviewers should identify relevant published work not cited by the authors.

5. Conflict of Interest: Reviewers should not review manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest arising from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors or institutions.

Duties of Authors

1. Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that their work is original and that any use of the work and words of others is properly cited or quoted.

2. Multiple Submissions: Authors must not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently.

3. Acknowledgement of Sources: Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must be given. Authors should cite publications that have influenced their work.

4. Authorship: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the research. All co-authors must have approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to its submission.

5. Disclosure of Conflicts: Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest that could influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript.

6. Errors in Published Work: If an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, they must promptly notify the journal editor and cooperate to correct or retract the article.

Duties of the Publisher

Az-Zahra Media Society Publishers, as the publisher of Z-Islamica: Journal of Islamic Studies, takes its duties of guardianship over all stages of the publishing process seriously and recognizes its ethical and other responsibilities. The publisher is committed to ensuring that advertising, reprint, or other commercial revenue has no impact on editorial decisions.