Publication Ethics

 
Ethics & Academic Integrity
Publication Ethics
International Literature of Muslim Understanding (ILMU)
Commitment to Publication Integrity

International Literature of Muslim Understanding (ILMU) is committed to maintaining high standards of academic integrity, transparency, fairness, and responsible scholarly publishing.

This publication ethics policy applies to authors, editors, reviewers, editorial board members, and the publisher. The journal follows internationally recognized principles of responsible publication and good editorial practice.

Core Ethical Principles
Integrity
Research findings, arguments, quotations, and data must be presented honestly.
Originality
Submitted manuscripts must represent original scholarly work.
Fairness
Editorial decisions must be based on academic merit and relevance.
Accountability
All parties involved in publication are responsible for maintaining ethical standards.
01. Responsibilities of Editors
Editorial Decisions. Editors make publication decisions based on academic quality, originality, relevance, peer review reports, and journal policy.
Fair Evaluation. Manuscripts must be evaluated without discrimination based on nationality, religion, ethnicity, gender, institutional affiliation, or academic status.
Confidentiality. Editors must protect unpublished manuscripts and confidential information.
Conflict of Interest. Editors must withdraw from handling manuscripts where a conflict of interest may affect impartiality.
02. Responsibilities of Reviewers
Objective Review. Reviewers should provide clear, constructive, and academically justified comments.
Confidentiality. Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents.
Academic Competence. Reviewers should accept assignments only when they possess relevant expertise.
Conflict of Interest. Reviewers must decline assignments where personal, professional, or institutional conflicts may compromise objectivity.
Ethical Concerns. Reviewers should inform editors if they identify possible plagiarism, duplicate publication, manipulation, or other ethical concerns.
03. Responsibilities of Authors
Originality. Authors must submit original scholarly work and properly acknowledge all sources used.
Accuracy. Data, translations, quotations, textual evidence, interpretations, and bibliographic information must be accurate.
Multiple Submission. Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to another journal.
Proper Citation. Ideas, texts, translations, manuscripts, archival materials, and other sources must be properly acknowledged.
Responsibility. Authors remain fully responsible for the content and integrity of their published work.
Authorship and Contribution

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made meaningful intellectual contributions to the manuscript.

Contributions may include:

  • conceptualization;
  • research design;
  • data collection or textual investigation;
  • analysis and interpretation;
  • drafting the manuscript;
  • substantive academic revision.

Individuals who provide administrative, technical, or financial support without substantial scholarly contribution should normally be acknowledged rather than listed as authors.

Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct

ILMU does not tolerate plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct.

Plagiarism or unattributed copying.
Fabrication or falsification of research materials.
Manipulation of quotations, translations, or textual evidence.
Duplicate or redundant publication.
Citation manipulation.
Manipulation of the peer review process.
Research Ethics and Human Participants

Research involving human participants, interviews, personal narratives, private documents, or sensitive information must respect dignity, privacy, confidentiality, and informed consent.

Where institutional ethical approval is required, authors should provide information regarding the relevant ethics committee or approval process.

Textual, Manuscript, and Archival Ethics

Authors conducting research on manuscripts, archival materials, classical texts, private collections, or unpublished sources must clearly identify the provenance of the materials used.

Reproductions, images, transcriptions, translations, or editions of protected materials must respect copyright, ownership, repository rules, and relevant permissions.

Conflict of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, institutional, academic, personal, or professional relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the publication process.

Funding Disclosure

Authors should disclose financial support, grants, sponsorship, or institutional funding related to the research whenever applicable.

Artificial Intelligence and Academic Responsibility

Artificial Intelligence tools may be used only as responsible assistive technologies and may not be listed as authors or co-authors.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, citations, translations, interpretations, arguments, and final content of the manuscript.

AI must not be used to fabricate sources, quotations, research findings, historical evidence, translations, manuscripts, data, or references.
Copyright and Third-Party Materials

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyrighted images, manuscript pages, illustrations, tables, long quotations, archival materials, or other protected content where permission is legally required.

Post-Publication Actions
Correction
Issued when an error requires correction but does not invalidate the article.
Expression of Concern
May be issued while serious concerns are under investigation.
Retraction
May be applied when serious misconduct or unreliable findings invalidate the publication.
Ethical Concern Procedure
Report → Preliminary Review → Evidence Assessment → Author Clarification → Editorial Decision
Complaints and Appeals

Authors may submit an appeal against an editorial decision when they believe that a significant academic or procedural issue has not been adequately considered.

Appeals and complaints must be submitted professionally and supported by clear academic reasoning or relevant evidence.

Editorial Independence

Publication decisions are based solely on scholarly quality, editorial standards, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal. The publisher, sponsors, institutions, or external parties must not improperly influence editorial decisions.

Ethical Commitment
Integrity, Responsibility, and Trust in Scholarly Publishing

International Literature of Muslim Understanding (ILMU) is committed to protecting the credibility of the scholarly record and maintaining an ethical publication environment for international research on Islam and Muslim societies.