Author Guidelines for Book Reviews
Manchester Journal of Transnational Islamic Law & Practice
BOOK REVIEWS GUIDELINES
Submission Guidelines
Example: Comparative Religious Law: Judaism, Christianity, Islam Norman Doe, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2018, ix + 457 pp. ISBN: 978-1-107-16713-1
Deadline
Our publication timelines are the 1st of January, April, July, and October every year. Please send us your review two months before each date so we can include it in the subsequent Issue.
Recommended Format
A good book review provides a quick overview of the main ideas in the text. Also helpful is an account of how the book fits into, or engages in, an on-going philosophical debate. While not required, a compare and contrast approach can be useful to demonstrate both the main ideas and unique positioning of a book. An overview for a book review is good when it is broad and concise, including all and only the main points of the text. A good book review evaluates the text and deploys an argument regarding how successful the book is in achieving its own goals. This may, but need not, involve substantive disagreement with the argumentation found in the text. Many reviews will be best when they: (i) begin with any important background information (e.g. author biography); (ii) provide a summary of the contents of the book; and (iii) end with the reviewer’s evaluations.
A book review is expected to:
Spelling
Generally, we follow OSCOLA. However, spell the following words as follows:
Qur’an, Sunnah, Shari’ah, Shafii, Hanafi, Maliki, Muhammad (when referring to Prophet Muhammad)
Citation
Follow OSCOLA all the time except when citing the book under review. In this case, follow the following samples:
While ensuring that it is accessible to specialists and non-specialists alike, the author expressly targets a Muslim audience, inviting them to critically examine the history of the practice of slavery in Islamic communities in order to “confront issues raised by those legacies in the contemporary world” (p. 19).
and….
Powell gives an overview of the complexity of understanding what is an Islamic Law State due to the variance in the relationship between religious and secular law within the domestic systems (p. 45). She claims to be interested in the “consonance and dissonance between Islamic law and international law” and that there is a link between the domestic law and the interstate law (pp. 47-48).
Dates
Follow the examples below:
In this book, Necmettin Kizilkaya traces the development of legal maxim works between the 10th (4th Hijri) and 19th (13th Hijri) centuries.
The structure of maxim works articulated in the 16th (10th Hijri) century underwent a transformation in the 19th century (13th Hijri) when legal maxims were codified in the Majalla.
Religious Remarks
Where the author wishes to add a remark due to religious rituals, they should always use English. For example, when mentioning the word Prophet, instead of using (ï·º), add a footnote saying: Referring to Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. On every occasion that this book mentions Prophet/Messenger Muhammad, reference to the terminology (Peace Be Upon Him) shall be assumed.
Submission and Contact
Please email your book review submissions and/or queries to the Book Review Editor: Dr Khaled Bashir (khaled.bashir@abdn.ac.uk).