Publication Ethics

Al-Muqārana: Journal of Comparative Islamic Law is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics, academic integrity, and scholarly responsibility. These ethical principles apply to all parties involved in the publication process, including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher. The journal adheres to internationally recognized ethical guidelines and best practices established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Al-Muqārana maintains a strict policy against plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, duplicate publication, citation manipulation, and all forms of academic misconduct. Manuscripts or published articles found to violate ethical standards may be rejected, corrected, retracted, or removed from publication at any stage of the editorial process. To ensure originality, all submissions may be screened using plagiarism detection software.

Editor Responsibilities

Editorial Accountability and Decision-Making

The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board are responsible for determining which manuscripts are suitable for publication. Editorial decisions are based on scholarly merit, originality, methodological soundness, relevance to the journal’s scope, and recommendations provided through the peer-review process.

Fairness and Non-Discrimination

Editors evaluate manuscripts solely on academic quality, intellectual contribution, and relevance to the field of comparative Islamic law. Decisions shall not be influenced by the authors’ nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, institutional affiliation, political orientation, or personal characteristics.

Confidentiality

Editors and editorial staff must maintain the confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts and related correspondence. Information concerning a manuscript may only be disclosed to the corresponding author, reviewers, editorial advisers, and the publisher when necessary.

Conflicts of Interest

Editors must not use unpublished materials contained in submitted manuscripts for personal research or professional advantage. Editors with conflicts of interest concerning a manuscript must recuse themselves from the editorial decision-making process.

Reviewer Responsibilities

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer reviewers assist editors in evaluating manuscripts and contribute to publication decisions through objective, constructive, and scholarly assessments.

Confidentiality

Reviewers must treat manuscripts as confidential documents and may not disclose, discuss, or share manuscript content with unauthorized parties.

Objectivity and Scholarly Conduct

Reviews should be conducted fairly, professionally, and objectively. Reviewers are expected to provide clear, evidence-based, and constructive feedback that supports the improvement of the manuscript.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers should decline review invitations when conflicts of interest arise from professional, institutional, financial, collaborative, or personal relationships with the authors or related organizations.

Ethical Concerns

Reviewers should immediately inform the Editor-in-Chief if they identify plagiarism, duplicate publication, unethical research practices, fabricated data, or substantial similarities with previously published works.

Peer Review Process

All manuscripts submitted to Al-Muqārana undergo an initial editorial assessment to determine their suitability with the journal’s aims and scope. Manuscripts that pass the preliminary screening are evaluated through a double-blind peer-review process involving at least two independent reviewers. Final publication decisions are made by the editorial team based on reviewers’ recommendations and editorial evaluation.

Author Responsibilities

Reporting Standards

Authors must present research findings accurately, honestly, and transparently. Data, interpretations, and conclusions should not be fabricated, falsified, selectively reported, or manipulated.

Originality and Plagiarism

Authors must ensure that submitted manuscripts are original works that have not been previously published or simultaneously submitted elsewhere. Appropriate acknowledgment and citation must be provided for all sources, ideas, data, and materials used.

Data Availability and Retention

Authors should retain relevant research data and supporting materials and make them available for editorial review when reasonably requested for verification purposes.

Ethical Compliance

Research submitted to Al-Muqārana must comply with applicable legal, ethical, and professional standards relevant to Islamic legal studies, comparative law, and related fields.

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, professional, or personal interests that may influence the interpretation or presentation of research findings.

Authorship

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions to the conception, design, execution, analysis, or interpretation of the research. All authors must approve the final version of the manuscript before submission.

Multiple or Redundant Publication

Authors must not submit substantially similar manuscripts to more than one journal simultaneously. Duplicate and redundant publication constitute serious violations of publication ethics.

Corrections and Retractions

Authors are obligated to promptly notify the journal if significant errors or inaccuracies are identified in their published work and cooperate fully with the editorial team in issuing corrections, clarifications, or retractions when necessary.