Aims of the Journal:

Manchester Journal of Transnational Islamic Law & Practice (MJTILP) is a scholarly peer-reviewed journal published by electronicpublications.org. Since its establishment in 2005 as the Journal of Islamic State Practices in International Law, this journal has evolved responding to specific needs in the Islamic law scholarship. It has also carried the title of Journal of Islamic Law and International Law for some years meeting similar scholarly objectives. Passing through another phase of evolution to MJTILP in 2020, the journal continues with its original aims to encourage national and international Islamic law scholarship. The MJTILP combines these two forms of scholarships together as transnational Islamic law and provides a unique space for discussion and innovation in various strands of Islamic law and practice across national boundaries. Transnationalism in Islamic law is taken broadly as communications and interactions linking thoughts, ideas, people, practices and institutions across nation-States. We welcome constructive and interdisciplinary commentaries on Islamic law and practice that are built upon configurations in contemporary contexts. Critical engagements with Islamic law and practice that apprise and inspire knowledge across national boundaries, whether enforced by a State or voluntarily practised by worldwide Muslim communities, are welcome. We are equally interested in scholarships on Muslim State practices, diaspora, identity and citizenship that are embedded and circumscribed by religious ties.

Guidelines for Authors:

The MJTILP is not restricted to any specific field of law and aims to cover a wide range of subjects relevant to Islamic law and practice. Topics of particular interest include: transnational forms of Islamic law; constitutional developments, law reform and application of international law in the Muslim world; application of Shariah in Muslim or non-Muslim States; accommodation of Muslims in non-Muslim States; comparative practices of Muslim majority States; and intersections between Islamic law and international law or other religious and secular legal systems.

The journal welcomes submission of articles that meet its objectives for consideration with a view to publication. The journal comprises of three sections: (1) Articles, (2) Recent Developments, and (3) Book Reviews.

1. Articles: The normal word length for article contributions in the journal is between 5000-15000 words. Articles which do not adhere the word limit guidelines, can only be published if: (a) convincing reasons are given by the author(s); (b) an approval of the Editor-in-Chief is attained; and (c) positive report by the assigned reviewers on the length of the article. All journal articles are peer reviewed, and it is a requirement of submission that these articles are original and not previously published elsewhere. An abstract of no more than 250 words should be included with all article submissions.

2. Recent Developments: The journal also welcomes shorter contributions (between 2000 to 3000 words) for its recent developments section. Contributions in this section are on topical recent developments and issues that meet the broader aims and objectives of this journal. All recent developments are peer reviewed, and it is a requirement of submission that they are original and not previously published elsewhere. An abstract of no more than 250 words should be included with all submissions.

3. Book Reviews: A good book review (1000-2000 words including footnotes) should provide 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. A broad and concise overview including all and only the main points of the text deploying an argument regarding how successful the book is in achieving its own goals will be considered. This may, but need not, involve substantive disagreement with the argumentation found in the text. Many reviews will be best when they: (a) begin with any important background information (e.g. author biography); (b) provide a summary of the contents of the book; and (c) end with the reviewer’s evaluations. Please take a look at our Call for Book Reviews and comply with our detailed Author Guidelines for Book Reviews before submission.

Peer Review:

The Manchester Journal of Transnational Islamic Law & Practice is a peer-reviewed journal. Receipt of all manuscripts will be acknowledged immediately.

All articles and recent developments received are evaluated by the Editors-in-Chief and thereafter as appropriate the manuscript is blind reviewed by one or more expert reviewers from within or outside the MJTILP. The review process can take up to one month, although exceptions to this time frame may occur. After receiving comments from reviewer(s), notification of acceptance, rejection or need for revision will be given to the corresponding author. Excellence is a necessary condition for publication. The final decision on publication rests with the Editorial Board. Substantive changes proposed by reviewers/Editorial Board will only be made in consultation with the author.

All book reviews will be assessed upon submission on a case by case basis, depending on the standing of the reviewer. If they are experienced scholars, a peer review by an editorial member will be undertaken. If the review is submitted by an emerging scholar, it will undergo a blind peer review.

Members of the MJTILP editorial board can make manuscript submissions, both as a lead author or a contributor, only if the lead author is an expert in the area. All such submissions (except book reviews) will be subject to a double-blind review process.

Plagiarism:

All submissions will be checked for plagiarism and must be in the contributor(s) own words, except for quotations from published and unpublished sources. The source of any picture, map, data, illustration, and any other material not resulting from the contributor(s) own research, regardless the source is published or unpublished, must also be indicated and acknowledged. Incorporation of material from other works or a paraphrase of such material without acknowledgement will, subject to the standard academic custom and usage, be treated as plagiarism.

Research Ethics:

The Manchester Journal of Transnational Islamic Law & Practice believes in and promotes academic freedom in line with the EU recognised standards of research Ethics in Social Science and Humanities and the UK ESRC framework for research ethics. Contributing authors are free to explore their professional interests, thoughts and ideas; investigate a wide range of phenomena from their own perspectives; and set their research agenda for critical, analytical and innovative interventions in a field.

However, we expect that our contributing authors are fully committed to the standards of ethical considerations for research in social sciences and humanities. Academic freedom has its limits, and a researcher has considerable responsibility to:

• the people involved in the research and their rights, safety, well-being and interests (or dignity, integrity, rights, and autonomy);
• communities that are engaged and involved in the research; and
• society at large, in terms of the contributions research can make in effecting socially useful and valued development and change, but also in terms of avoiding potential misuse or unintended consequences of research results.

The Manchester Journal of Transnational Islamic Law & Practice is committed to publish research which follows an adequate and appropriate approach to academic freedom and takes seriously the ethics dimensions of research. Contributing authors are encouraged to read the EU recognised standards of research Ethics in Social Science and Humanities and the UK ESRC framework for research ethics before submission of their work publication.

Our editors and peer reviewers will carefully consider whether the work submitted for publication and information provided by contributing authors adequately addresses ethics issues that may arise from the submitted work or have been encountered during or following the research.

Any concerns regarding the standards of ethical considerations will result in the immediate suspension of the review process of submitted work until such concerns are adequately addressed by the contributing authors. Contributing authors must address any concerns by the editors or reviewers on ethics issues before their work is accepted for publication. Submitted work that fails to meet the ethical standards or fail to address concerns of editors and reviewers on ethical standards will be rejected.

General Information for Authors:

1. Submissions must be original unpublished work and not under consideration for publication elsewhere. 
2. The text of your submission must be typed in Times New Roman point-size 12 and 1.0 spaced, and single spaced between paragraphs.  
3. The first page must give: title of paper, author name/s, and brief author information including email. 
4. An abstract of no more than 250 words and 3 to 5 keywords must be included with all submissions (except book reviews).  
5. British spelling of English language and punctuation conventions is used throughout (except in quotations from other sources, where the original convention should be retained). 
6. Headings style and their numbering must be in accordance with the journal style. 
7. Footnotes are used (not endnotes or in-text citations) and should be kept as brief as possible and used primarily for reference purposes; explanatory notes are discouraged. Footnotes must be in accordance with the journal style of referencing. 
8. The author/s shall be responsible for submitting the manuscript in final copy-edited form.

Citations:

The MJTILP uses footnotes and not endnotes. All submissions must be referenced using the MJTILP citation style, which is primarily based on OSCOLA, but has been adopted by MJTILP with slight modifications to meet its objectives.

Submissions:

Editorial correspondence, including submission of articles and recent developments to the journal should be made electronically to the Editor-in-Chief of the Manchester Journal of Transnational Islamic Law & Practice: Dr Ahmad Ghouri. E-mail: a.a.ghouri@outlook.com.

Book review enquiries and submissions should be made to the Book Review Editor of the Manchester Journal of Transnational Islamic Law & Practice: Dr Khaled Bashir. E-mail: khaled.bashir@abdn.ac.uk. 

PDF Proofs:

Corresponding authors will receive a PDF proof of their article by email and it is essential that a current email address of corresponding author(s) is supplied with all manuscripts. Proofing instructions will accompany the PDF file. The proof should be checked immediately upon receipt and returned as per covering instructions. Only essential corrections should be made at this stage. The MJTILP will not be responsible for any mistakes arising from any necessary in-house MJTILP copy-editing.

E-Offprints:

Following publication, corresponding authors will receive a PDF file of their articles free of charge by the publisher for personal use only.

Advance Publications:

Accepted manuscripts may be published online as advance publications. All advance publications will be included in the subsequent Issue/Volume of the Manchester Journal of Transnational Islamic Law & Practice. 

Transfer of Copyright:

By submitting a manuscript, the author agrees that the copyright for the article is transferred to the publisher if and when the article is accepted for publication.