BALAGH - Journal of Islamic and Humanities Studies

BALAGH - Journal of Islamic and Humanities Studies is an international, refereed, academic journal published twice a year (June - December) in Turkish, Arabic and English by Karabük University Faculty of Theology. It accepts articles for the first issue of the year between January 1 - April 30, and for the second issue between August 1 - October 30. Articles received after these dates are evaluated for the next issue. The journal accepts studies such as research articles, book reviews and symposium evaluations. Research articles are accepted only from researchers with a doctorate degree or, if ongoing, with the condition of being accompanied by the instructor they are an advisor to. Articles are first checked by editors. The double-blind refereeing process is initiated for approved articles and all articles are subject to plagiarism screening through relevant programs. Our journal accepts articles from all main and minor branches of Islamic sciences, as well as from social sciences and other disciplines, provided that they are related, with the approval of the editorial board. 

BALAGH - Journal of Islamic and Humanities Studies publishes original research that contributes to the advancement of scholarly understanding and interpretation in the history and philosophy of religious thought in all traditions and periods, including Islamic Studies, Judaism, Christianity, Comparative Religious Studies, Theology and Ethics. BALAGH - Journal of Islamic and Humanities Studies publishes articles, book reviews and symposium evaluations from the accepted field of Religious Studies and Social Sciences more generally.

Scope: Religion Sciences/Social and Human Sciences/Islamic Sciences/Comparative Religious Studies

Publication Language
Full Text Publication Language:
• Primary Language: Turkish
• Secondary Language: English
• Third Language: Arabic

Content Written in English and Latin Alphabet:
• Article Title: Turkish & English

• Article Abstract: Turkish & English

• Keywords: Turkish & English
• Author Name: Turkish (Latin Alphabet)
• Author Address: Turkish (Latin Alphabet)
• References: Turkish (Latin Alphabet)
Full Text: Turkish (Latin Alphabet) & English

Content Written in Arabic Alphabet:
• Article Title: Arabic & Turkish & English

• Article Abstract: Arabic & Turkish & English
• Author Name: Latin Alphabet
• Author Address: Turkish (Latin Alphabet) & English
• Keywords: Turkish & English & Arabic
• References: Latin Alphabet

• Article Preparation

  Language: Turkish, English and Arabic

  The journal's language is Turkish, English and Arabic.

  Article Types: Research article, compilation article, translated article, research note, obituary, meeting abstract, book review,

  However, authors are requested to be as concise as possible for the dissemination of the work.

  Article Format: Word

  Source Notation Style: Isnad footnoted. See https://www.isnadsistemi.org/guide/isnad2/isnad-dipnotlu/

  Author Change: Only processed before the article is accepted. Authors must carefully review the list and order of authors before submitting their articles and provide the definitive author list during the original submission.

  As of Volume: 5 Issue: 1 (June) of 2025, only one study per researcher will be accepted for publication in the same issue. In addition, the same researcher is not allowed to publish twice in the same year. However, even if they are in different years, at least two issues must have passed before an author can publish for the second time.

  
  

  Writing Rules:

  The following rules should be observed for article writing.

  1. The text of the article should be Times New Roman font size 12 for studies written in Turkish and English. Those written in Arabic should be Traditional Arabic font size 16.

  
  

  3. Footnotes should be in the same font size 9.

  
  

  4. Footnotes and bibliography should be arranged according to the ISNAD citation system.

  
  

  5. The persons, places, works and terms used in the article should be prepared based on the TDV Islamic Encyclopedia (https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/). The editor has the right to make minor changes to the spelling of the articles. Consistency should be maintained in spelling, capitalized and transcribed words.

  
  

  6. Articles written in Arabic must be accompanied by a Turkish or English abstract.

  
  

  7. In articles written in Arabic, the bibliography must also be written in the Latin alphabet.

  
  

  8. In articles written in Arabic, the font is Traditional Arabic.

  
  

  9. Turkish, English and Arabic summaries must be a maximum of 200 words.

  10. All abstracts must contain at least three (3) keywords. ISNAD principles must be applied in the selection of keywords. See https://www.isnadsistemi.org/guide/isnad2/akademik-yazim/5-anahtar-kelimelerin-secimi/

  11. The original title and bibliographic information of a translated article must be stated in the text.

  
  

  12. If an article is produced from a thesis or symposium, this must be stated in accordance with publication ethics. See https://www.isnadsistemi.org/guide/isnad2/akademik-yazim/1-yayin-etigi/yayin-etigi-beyani/

  13. Balagh Journal is published twice a year in June and December. The deadline for submission of articles for the December issue is October 30, and for the June issue is April 30. Depending on the volume of article submissions, the journal may close submissions earlier.

  14. The scientific, intellectual and literary responsibilities of the published articles belong to the authors, and since the journal has an open access policy, the copyrights do not belong to the journal.

  
  

  15. A study sent to the journal must be between a minimum of 5000 words and a maximum of 9000 words.

  
  

  Source Citation Style

  Articles must be prepared according to the ISNAD Citation System.

Ethical Principles and Publication Policy
The publication process at Balagh is the basis of the improvement and dissemination of information objectively and respectfully. Therefore, the procedures in this process improve the quality of the studies. Peer-reviewed studies are the ones that support and materialize the scientific method. At this point, it is of utmost importance that all parties included in the publication process (authors, readers and researchers, publisher, reviewers and editors) comply with the standards of ethical considerations. Balagh expects all parties to hold the following ethical responsibilities.
The following ethical duties and responsibilities are written in the light of the guide and policies made by Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

The journal may close the acceptance of articles early if deemed necessary.

The publication of an article in a peer-reviewed journal is an essential building block in the development of a coherent and respected network of knowledge. It is a direct reflection of the quality of the work of the authors and the institutions that support them. Peer-reviewed articles support and embody the scientific method. It is therefore important to agree upon standards of expected ethical behavior for all parties involved in the act of publishing: the author, the journal editor, the peer reviewer, and the publisher.

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement
Correction, Retraction, Expression of Concern
Editor should consider publishing correction if minor errors that do not effect the results, interpretations and conclusions of the published paper are detected. Editor should consider retraction if major errors and/or misconduction that invalidate results and conclusions are detected. Editor should consider issuing an expression of concern if there is evidence of research or publication misconduct by the authors; there is evidence that the findings are not reliable and institutions of the authors do not investigate the case or the possible investigation seems to be unfair or nonconclusive. The guidelines of COPE and ICMJE are taken into consideration regarding correction, retractions or expression of concern.

Plagiarism Action Plan and Journal Precautions
The journal respects intellectual property and aims to protect and promote the original work of its authors. Articles containing plagiarism are against the standards of quality, research, and innovation. Therefore, all authors who submit articles to the journal are expected to comply with ethical standards and avoid plagiarism in any form. If an author is suspected of plagiarism in a submitted or published article, the journal's Ethics Editor reviews the work first. This work is then reviewed by the Editorial Board. The Journal then contacts the author(s) to submit their comments within two weeks. If the journal does not receive any response from the author within the specified time, it requests the investigation of the claim by contacting the university to which the author is affiliated. The journal will take the following serious precautions against published articles that are found to contain plagiarism.
1. The journal will immediately contact the university to which the author(s) are affiliated, in order to take final action against the related author.
2. The journal will remove the PDF copy of the published article from its website and disable all links to the full-text article. The phrase Plagiarized Article will be added to the title of the published article.
3. The journal will disable the author's account and reject all future submissions by the author for a period of 3 years.

This journal checks for plagiarism
Submitted manuscripts that pass preliminary control are scanned for plagiarism using iThenticate software. If plagiarism/self-plagiarism will be found authors will be informed. Editors may resubmit the manuscript for similarity check at any peer-review or production stage if required. High similarity scores may lead to rejection of a manuscript before and even after acceptance. The percentage of similarity score taken from each article, the overall similarity score is generally expected to be less than 30%.
Publication of Studies Based on Survey and Interview
Balagh adopts the "Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors" and "Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers" of the Publication Ethics Committee (COPE) in order to create ethical assurance in scientific periodicals. In this context, the authors are requested to comply with the following issues in the studies submitted to the journal:
1) Ethics committee approval should be obtained for research conducted in all disciplines that require ethics committee approval, this approval should be stated on the first page of the article and the ethics approval document should be uploaded to the Dergipark system with the article.
2) In research that requires ethics committee permission, information about the permission (name of the committee, date and number) is given in the method section, and after the bibliography section of the article; In case reports, information about signing the informed consent/consent form should be included in the article.
Special Issue Publishing Policy
Our journal publishes a special issue annually, in December, upon the request of the Editorial Board. The articles sent to our journal for publication are first subjected to an editorial review and it is checked whether they have been prepared in accordance with the journal's publication policy and writing principles. It is then subjected to a similarity scan to prevent plagiarism. Articles that pass these stages without any problems are included in the peer review process using the double-blind model.
1. Publication and authorship
• List of references, financial support;
• No plagiarism, no fraudulent data. As a result of plagiarism control, articles with a similarity rate of 30% or more are directly rejected in accordance with the journal's publication policy.
• Forbidden to publish same research in more than one journal.
2. Author’s responsibilities
• Authors obliged to participate in peer review process;
• All authors have significantly contributed to the research;
• Statement that all data in article are real and authentic;
• All authors are obliged to provide retractions or corrections of mistakes.
3. Peer review / responsibility for the reviewers
• Judgments should be objective;
• Reviewers should have no conflict of interest with respect to the research, the authors and/or the research funders;
• Reviewers should point out relevant published work which is not yet cited;
• Reviewed articles should be treated confidentially.
4. Editorial responsibilities
• Editors have complete responsibility and authority to reject/accept an article;
• Editors should have no conflict of interest with respect to articles they reject/accept;
• Only accept a paper when reasonably certain;
• When errors are found, promote publication of correction or retraction;
• Preserve anonymity of reviewers.
• No plagiarism, no fraudulent data.
5. Publishing ethics issues
• Monitoring/safeguarding publishing ethics by editorial board;
• Guidelines for retracting articles;
• Maintain the integrity of the academic record;
• Preclude business needs from compromising intellectual and ethical standards;
• Always be willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies when needed.
Duties of the Publisher
Balagh is committed to ensuring that commercial revenue has no impact or influence on editorial decisions. In addition, CTJ will assist in communications with other journals and/or publishers where this is useful to editors. Finally, we are working closely with other publishers and industry associations to set standards for best practices on ethical matters, errors and retractions–and are prepared to provide specialized legal review and counsel if necessary.

Plagiarism Detection
Balagh uses double-blind review fulfilled by at least two reviewers. In addition, all articles are checked by means of a program in order to confirm they are not published before and avoid plagiarism.
The peer review process is at the heart of the success of scientific publishing. As part of our commitment to the protection and enhancement of the peer review process, CTJ has an obligation to assist the scientific community in all aspects of publishing ethics, especially in cases of (suspected) duplicate submission or plagiarism.
When a reader discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in a paper published in Balagh journal or have any other complaint about editorial content (plagiarism, duplicate papers, etc.), he/she should make a complaint by e-mail to: balagh@karabuk.edu.tr. We welcome complaints as they provide an opportunity for improvement, and we aim to respond quickly and constructively.

No fee is charged to the author or institution under any name.

All expenses of the journal are covered by Karabük University. There is no fee for the publication of articles in the journal and the execution of article processes. No processing or submission fee is charged for articles sent to the journal or accepted for publication.

Other Indexes

	ERIH PLUS (KABUL/ACCEPTED: 28.10.2024)
	ULRICH'S PERIODICALS DIRECTORY (KABUL/ACCEPTED: 09.04.2025)
	EBSCO CENTRAL & EASTERN EUROPEAN ACADEMIC SOURCE (KABUL/ACCEPTED: 14.01.2025)
	DOAJ: DIRECTORY OF OPEN ACCESS JOURNALS (KABUL/ACCEPTED: 29.10.2024)