Plagiarism Policy

Islamicate Futures: Knowledge, Ethics, and Muslim Societies is committed to maintaining academic integrity, originality, and ethical scholarly communication. The journal does not tolerate plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, text recycling, unattributed translation, fabricated references, citation manipulation, or any other form of academic misconduct.

All manuscripts submitted to Islamicate Futures: Knowledge, Ethics, and Muslim Societies must be original works of the author(s), must not have been previously published, and must not be under consideration for publication elsewhere. Authors are responsible for ensuring that all sources, ideas, arguments, data, texts, translations, figures, tables, and other materials taken from previous works are properly cited and acknowledged.

Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism refers to the use of another person’s words, ideas, arguments, data, theories, interpretations, translations, images, tables, figures, or research findings without proper acknowledgment. Plagiarism may occur in various forms, including direct copying, improper paraphrasing, unattributed translation, self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, and the use of AI-generated or fabricated content without disclosure and verification.

The journal considers the following practices as forms of plagiarism or unethical textual overlap:

copying text from another source without quotation marks and proper citation;

paraphrasing another author’s work without proper acknowledgment;

using another scholar’s ideas, arguments, concepts, data, or interpretation without citation;

translating text from another language without attribution;

reusing substantial parts of the author’s own previously published work without citation;

submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time;

publishing substantially similar research in multiple venues without disclosure;

using fabricated quotations, false references, or inaccurate citations;

and presenting AI-generated text, references, or analysis as original scholarly work without verification and disclosure.

Similarity Screening

All manuscripts submitted to Islamicate Futures: Knowledge, Ethics, and Muslim Societies will be screened using plagiarism or similarity detection software before being processed further. The similarity report will be used by the editorial team to evaluate the originality of the manuscript.

As a general policy, submitted manuscripts should have a similarity index below 15%, excluding references, properly quoted materials, standard methodological phrases, and article metadata. However, editorial decisions are not based solely on the numerical similarity percentage. The editorial team will examine the similarity report qualitatively to determine whether the overlap represents acceptable scholarly practice or plagiarism.

A manuscript with a similarity index below 15% may still be rejected if it contains serious plagiarism, unattributed copying, inappropriate paraphrasing, fabricated references, or unethical use of sources. Conversely, a manuscript with a higher similarity percentage may be reconsidered if the overlap comes mainly from references, quoted primary sources, methodological terminology, or properly cited materials.

Editorial Actions

If plagiarism or unethical textual overlap is detected, the journal may take one or more of the following actions depending on the severity of the case:

return the manuscript to the author for correction;

request clarification from the author;

reject the manuscript before peer review;

reject the manuscript after peer review;

withdraw the manuscript from the editorial process;

notify the author’s institution or affiliated body;

publish a correction, expression of concern, or retraction if the article has already been published;

or take other appropriate actions in accordance with publication ethics standards.

Manuscripts containing serious plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated references, citation manipulation, or deliberate academic misconduct will be rejected immediately.

Self-Plagiarism and Text Recycling

Authors must not reuse substantial parts of their own previously published work without proper citation. Self-plagiarism includes reusing previous text, data, arguments, tables, figures, or findings without acknowledgment.

If the submitted manuscript is based on a thesis, dissertation, conference paper, preprint, working paper, research report, or previous publication, authors must disclose this information during submission. The submitted manuscript must be substantially revised, expanded, and developed into an original journal article with a clear new contribution.

Duplicate and Concurrent Submission

Authors must not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time. Concurrent submission is considered a serious violation of publication ethics.

Authors must confirm that the manuscript submitted to Islamicate Futures: Knowledge, Ethics, and Muslim Societies is not under review, accepted, or published elsewhere. If duplicate submission is discovered, the manuscript will be rejected or withdrawn from the editorial process.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Authors may use AI-assisted tools for grammar checking, language refinement, or reference organization. However, AI tools must not be used to generate fabricated references, false quotations, unsupported claims, invented data, or misleading analysis.

If AI-assisted tools are used in manuscript preparation, authors must disclose their use transparently. Authors remain fully responsible for verifying the originality, accuracy, citation integrity, and scholarly quality of the manuscript.

AI-generated references, fabricated sources, false citations, and unverified claims are considered serious academic misconduct.

Author Responsibility

Authors are fully responsible for the originality and integrity of their submitted manuscript. Before submission, authors should carefully check their manuscript to ensure that:

all sources are properly cited;

all quotations are clearly marked;

all paraphrased materials are properly acknowledged;

all translations are attributed where necessary;

all references are accurate and verifiable;

the manuscript has not been submitted elsewhere;

and the similarity level is academically acceptable.

By submitting a manuscript to Islamicate Futures: Knowledge, Ethics, and Muslim Societies, authors confirm that the manuscript complies with this Plagiarism Policy and the journal’s Publication Ethics.

Post-Publication Plagiarism

If plagiarism is discovered after publication, the editorial team will investigate the case carefully. The journal may request clarification from the author(s), consult the editorial board, examine the similarity report, and review the relevant sources.

If plagiarism or serious ethical misconduct is confirmed, the journal may issue a correction, expression of concern, or retraction. Retraction notices will be clearly linked to the original article and will explain the reason for the retraction in order to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.

Commitment to Academic Integrity

Islamicate Futures: Knowledge, Ethics, and Muslim Societies is committed to promoting ethical, original, and responsible scholarship. The journal upholds plagiarism prevention as an essential part of maintaining academic quality, public trust, and international credibility in Islamic and Islamicate studies.