About the Journal
Publisher
The journal is published by the University of South Africa (Unisa Press).
Peer Review
All articles are subject to initial editorial screening to check language and applicability to the scope of the journal. If in order, the article is then put through a double blind peer review process. Articles are graded according to the following criteria
1. Accepted with no or minor revision
2. Accepted with major revisions to be attended to as detailed by the reviewers
3. Resubmission required
4. Declined
Potential reviewers are expected to adhere the ethical protocols as detailed in the “Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers” subsection (Subsection B) below.
Reviewers are expected to adhere to the following guidelines:
1. Reviewers are expected to accept review invitations only in areas where they have the necessary expertise.
2. Reviewers are expected to declare any competing interests (personal, financial, intellectual, amongst others) that may arise in a review.
3. Upon acceptance of the invitation, reviews should be done within a reasonable time frame.
4. Reviewers are required to respect the confidentiality of the review process.
5. Comments should be professional and directed at the article, not at the author.
6. In general, peer reviewers should adhere to the general guidelines published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) which can be found at the following link:
https://publicationethics.org/files/cope-ethical-guidelines-peer-reviewers-v2_0.pdf
Publication Scheduling
Annual publication
General
History of the Journal for Islamic Studies
The Journal was started by Professor Cobus Naude at the Rand Afrikaans University ( now
the University of Johannesburg) in 1980. It was housed at the University’s Centre for Islamic
Studies. The journal aimed at a broader understanding of Islam and Muslims which was
hitherto understudied in a South African context. In 1997, the journal was transferred to the
University of Cape Town and housed at the Centre for Contemporary Islam (CCI)under the
leadership of Professors Ebrahim Moosa and Abdul Kader Tayob. At CCI, the journal began to
specifically focus on Islam in Africa. From 2013 to 2021 the journal was primarily edited by
Dr Andrea Brigaglia, a specialist in Islam in West Africa. In 2021, the journal’s editorship was
moved from the University of Cape Town to the University of South Africa’s Auwais
Rafudeen. The journal is now housed by this university’s press, Unisa Press. Its website is:
https://unisapressjournals.co.za/index.php/JIS/index
The adherence to ethical publication
The Journal commits itself to upholding all peer accepted ethical standards in terms of receiving, reviewing and publishing academic articles and reviews. In general, this means commitment to a transparent, unbiased and non-prejudicial review process; assuring and respecting the confidentiality of authors and reviewers at applicable stages in the process; ensuring that articles and review reports are professional and non-derogatory; and the avoidance of deception at any stage in the process.
Confidentiality
All correspondence between authors, reviewers and editors are treated as confidential and may not be disclosed to third parties outside the review and publication process.
Conflict of Interest policy
Authors, reviewers and editors are required to disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest that may arise in the submission, reviewing and acceptance of articles. For authors, these include any applicable funding sources for articles. Reviewers should disclose that they are aware of the identity of the author if they discern this. The editor and associate editors will also disclose conflicts of interest if these arise. Conflicts of interest, and discerning of identity, do not, in principle, invalidate the review process and will be ascertained on a case by case basis.
Plagiarism policy
All articles received will, as a rule, be run through anti-plagiarism software. Author are also not allowed to present duplications, in whole or part, of their previous work.
Corrections and retractions of articles
The journal allows for the following post-publication procedures regarding corrections and retractions:
Corrigenda: These are author’s corrections to their already published article to ensure its continued integrity;
Addenda: These are the editors’ notes and corrections on an already published article to ensure that the academic integrity of the publication is upheld;
Retractions: These are published articles withdrawn by the author, or by the editorial team in conjunction with the editorial board, due to compelling reasons.
Production and publication
The journal is published annually. Once revisions of accepted articles are done to the editorial team’s satisfaction, the article will undergo copyediting, layout and proofing. All articles are published online and there will be no print copies made. Authors will be given an
opportunity to check proofs of their article prior to publication, although, in principle, no major adjustments are allowed at this stage.
Digital archiving policy
The journal is committed to the digitilization, digital archiving and consequent digital availability of all its content, from its first issue (1980) to the present. This will be done in stages by its host publisher, Unisa Press.
