Social Theories of Muslim Thinkers

The Journal of Social Theories of Muslim Thinkers expects all submitted manuscripts to be original, the result of independent research by the authors, and previously unpublished. Manuscripts must not be under consideration by any other journal simultaneously.

Simultaneous submission of the same manuscript—or manuscripts with essentially similar content—to multiple journals is a violation of publication ethics and is considered unacceptable. Authors are required to review the status of any related work and must disclose all relevant information to the Editor-in-Chief at the time of submission.

1. Scope of Prior Publication

A manuscript that has been published in full in a scientific journal, book, or other official publication will not be accepted for review. Furthermore, the submission of a manuscript in which a significant portion of the content has been previously published or is under consideration elsewhere is prohibited.

Redundant publication, duplicate publication, or incremental publication (salami slicing)—without full disclosure and scientific justification—constitutes research misconduct. This includes the extensive reuse of the author’s own text, data, findings, tables, or arguments without appropriate citation.

2. Allowable Forms of Pre-publication

Certain forms of public disclosure or prior dissemination are not considered prior publication, provided they are accompanied by transparency, appropriate citation, and adherence to intellectual property rights:

• Preprints: Posting a preprint version of a manuscript on established preprint servers, either prior to or simultaneously with submission to the Journal, is acceptable. The author must disclose the existence of the preprint and provide its URL upon submission. Upon acceptance and publication, authors are obligated to update the preprint record with a full citation, DOI, and a link to the “Version of Record” on the Journal’s website.
• Theses and Dissertations: Research derived from an academic thesis or dissertation is acceptable, provided that the manuscript represents a processed, rewritten, and independently developed contribution to the field. If the thesis is publicly available in an institutional repository, authors must declare this at the time of submission. While the Journal does not require the removal of the thesis from public access, any direct reuse of text, data, or findings from the thesis must be appropriately cited.
• Conference Papers: The presentation of an abstract, poster, or speech at a conference generally does not preclude the submission of an expanded version of the work. Similarly, working papers or conference proceedings may be submitted, provided the author has not transferred exclusive copyright to a third party. The manuscript must be substantially expanded and revised from the conference version, offering a clear and distinct value-added contribution (e.g., in research questions, theoretical framework, methodology, analysis, or conclusions). Authors must cite the previous version and clearly explain the overlap.

3. Disclosure Requirements

At the time of submission, authors must disclose information regarding any related work that has been:

• Previously published;
• Scheduled for publication;
• Submitted for peer review elsewhere;
• Released as a preprint, working paper, or part of a thesis/dissertation;
• Overlapping in subject, data, methodology, or text with the submitted manuscript.

This disclosure should be provided in the cover letter or submission notes and must include the title of the related work, author list, publication venue, current status, date of publication, and a DOI or hyperlink. Failure to disclose related works or providing incomplete information may result in the rejection of the manuscript or other disciplinary actions.

4. Redundant Publication and Self-Plagiarism

Redundant publication refers to the publication of substantially the same research, data, or findings in more than one work without scientific justification, appropriate citation, or full disclosure. The extensive reuse of one’s own previous text or content without citation may be considered self-plagiarism.

If the reuse of previous data, methods, or text is scientifically necessary, authors must:

1. Provide precise and complete citation to the original work;
2. Justify the extent and nature of the reuse to the Editor-in-Chief;
3. Clearly define the original contribution and added value of the new manuscript;
4. Avoid publishing identical findings more than once without scientific merit.

5. Verification and Editorial Action

The Journal utilizes plagiarism detection software (such as Hamandjoo) to verify the originality of manuscripts and detect textual overlap. This screening may occur during the pre-review phase, during the peer-review process, or after acceptance and publication.

In the event of significant overlap or failure to adhere to this policy, the Journal reserves the right to take appropriate actions based on the nature, extent, and stage of discovery, including:

• Requesting clarification and documentation;
• Returning the manuscript for revision and proper citation;
• Rejecting the manuscript during the peer-review process;
• Notifying the authors’ affiliated institutions or other relevant authorities;
• Issuing a correction or an expression of concern;
• Retracting the article post-publication;
• Removing the article from the Journal’s database in cases of proven serious misconduct.

Final decisions regarding the status of a manuscript are made by the Editorial Board, considering the evidence, the authors’ explanations, and adherence to established publication ethics. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of all submitted information.