Artificial Intelligence Policy

1. Purpose

Mumtaz: Journal of Islamic Education Management recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI), including generative AI and large language models (LLMs), can support various aspects of scholarly work. AI tools may assist authors, reviewers, editors, and journal staff in activities such as language improvement, formatting, summarization, data processing, and other legitimate scholarly tasks.

However, the use of AI must not compromise academic integrity, research transparency, originality, authorship, confidentiality, or human accountability.

This policy establishes the principles and requirements governing the use of AI in the preparation, submission, peer-review, editing, and publication of manuscripts in Mumtaz: Journal of Islamic Education Management.

2. General Principles

The following principles apply to all uses of AI in connection with the journal:

  1. Human accountability
    Human authors, reviewers, editors, and journal staff remain fully responsible for their work and decisions. AI tools cannot assume responsibility for the accuracy, originality, integrity, or ethical aspects of scholarly work.

  2. Transparency
    Any substantive use of AI that contributes to a manuscript, research process, analysis, figures, tables, or other scholarly content must be appropriately disclosed.

  3. Verification
    AI-generated or AI-assisted content must be critically reviewed and verified by humans before submission or publication. AI systems can produce inaccurate, incomplete, fabricated, biased, or misleading information.

  4. Academic integrity
    The use of AI must not result in plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, inappropriate appropriation of ideas, manipulation of data, or misrepresentation of sources.

  5. Confidentiality
    Confidential manuscripts, peer-review reports, unpublished research, personal data, and other restricted information must not be submitted to AI systems where confidentiality and data protection cannot be assured.

  6. Human authorship
    AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors of manuscripts published by the journal.

3. Use of AI by Authors

3.1 Permitted Uses

Authors may use AI-assisted technologies for legitimate purposes, including:

  • grammar, spelling, punctuation, and language improvement;

  • translation or language assistance;

  • improving clarity and readability;

  • formatting assistance;

  • brainstorming or developing research ideas;

  • assistance with coding or computational tasks;

  • data analysis, where the use of AI is methodologically appropriate and properly verified;

  • generating or assisting with tables, figures, diagrams, or other visual materials, subject to appropriate disclosure and copyright requirements.

The use of AI does not transfer responsibility for the manuscript from the authors to the AI system.

3.2 Disclosure of AI Use

Authors must disclose the use of AI when AI has materially contributed to the preparation or production of the manuscript.

The disclosure should identify:

  • the AI tool or system used;

  • the version or model, where reasonably available;

  • the purpose for which it was used;

  • the section or component of the manuscript affected, where applicable; and

  • the extent of human review and verification.

For example:

AI Use Disclosure: During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used [name of AI tool and version] for [e.g., language editing and improving the clarity of selected sections]. All AI-assisted content was reviewed, revised, and verified by the authors, who take full responsibility for the final content of the manuscript.

Where AI is used as part of the research methodology, for example, for data analysis, coding, classification, content generation, or figure generation, the use of AI should be described in the relevant Methods or methodological section of the manuscript.

3.3 Minor Language Assistance

Routine use of conventional spelling, grammar, or language-editing features that does not generate substantive scholarly content generally does not require a detailed AI disclosure.

However, authors remain responsible for the final wording, accuracy, meaning, and integrity of the manuscript.

3.4 AI-Generated Content

Authors must carefully verify AI-generated content before submission.

In particular, authors must verify:

  • factual accuracy;

  • quotations;

  • citations and references;

  • statistical claims;

  • interpretation of research findings;

  • names, dates, and bibliographic information;

  • originality and absence of plagiarism; and

  • compliance with applicable copyright and intellectual-property requirements.

AI-generated references must not be used without verification against the original scholarly source.

Authors must not present fabricated references, quotations, data, research findings, or other AI-generated information as genuine scholarly material.

3.5 AI and Authorship

AI systems, including ChatGPT and other generative AI tools, cannot be listed as authors or co-authors.

Authorship requires human responsibility for the work, including responsibility for its accuracy, integrity, originality, and final approval.

AI tools may be acknowledged as having provided assistance where appropriate, but such acknowledgment does not constitute authorship.

3.6 AI and Plagiarism

The use of AI does not exempt authors from the journal's plagiarism and academic-integrity requirements.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that AI-assisted content:

  • does not reproduce copyrighted or previously published material without appropriate attribution;

  • does not misappropriate another person's ideas;

  • does not contain fabricated citations;

  • does not misrepresent the origin of information; and

  • does not constitute plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct.

Authors should cite the original scholarly sources rather than relying on AI systems as the primary source of factual or scholarly claims.

4. AI Use in Research and Data Analysis

AI may be used as part of a research methodology when scientifically and ethically appropriate.

When AI materially contributes to research activities such as:

  • data collection;

  • data cleaning;

  • classification or coding;

  • qualitative analysis;

  • statistical or computational analysis;

  • generation of research materials;

  • generation of tables or figures; or

  • interpretation or transformation of research data,

the authors should provide sufficient information about the AI-assisted process to enable readers and reviewers to understand its role and, where applicable, assess or reproduce the research.

Authors remain responsible for the methodology, data, analysis, interpretation, and conclusions.

AI must not be used to fabricate, manipulate, or falsify research data or results.

5. AI-Generated Images, Figures, and Other Media

Authors must disclose the use of generative AI to create or substantially modify images, figures, illustrations, diagrams, or other visual materials when such use is material to the manuscript.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that AI-generated or AI-assisted visual materials:

  • accurately represent the research;

  • do not misrepresent research data;

  • do not manipulate evidence in a misleading manner;

  • comply with applicable copyright and intellectual-property requirements; and

  • are appropriately disclosed.

AI-generated images must not be presented as authentic photographs, experimental evidence, or original research data when they are not.

Where an image represents research data or evidence, the use of generative AI to alter that evidence is not permitted when such alteration could affect the interpretation or validity of the research.

6. AI Use by Peer Reviewers

Peer reviewers must maintain strict confidentiality regarding manuscripts submitted to the journal.

Reviewers must not upload, paste, submit, or otherwise transfer a submitted manuscript or confidential manuscript material into an AI system unless:

  1. the journal has explicitly permitted such use; and

  2. confidentiality, privacy, and data protection can be adequately assured.

This restriction applies to the manuscript itself as well as confidential supplementary materials, unpublished data, reviewer comments, and other information obtained through the peer-review process.

Reviewers must not use AI to generate a review without appropriate authorization from the journal.

If AI is permitted and used to assist with a review, the reviewer must:

  • disclose the use to the journal;

  • independently verify all AI-generated observations;

  • not disclose confidential manuscript information to the AI system;

  • remain fully responsible for the submitted review; and

  • ensure that the final review reflects the reviewer's own scholarly judgment.

AI-generated content must not replace the reviewer's independent evaluation of the manuscript.

7. AI Use by Editors and Editorial Staff

Editors and editorial staff may use AI-assisted technologies for appropriate administrative or editorial purposes, provided that such use does not compromise:

  • manuscript confidentiality;

  • author privacy;

  • reviewer confidentiality;

  • research integrity;

  • editorial independence; or

  • applicable data-protection requirements.

Editors and editorial staff must not upload confidential manuscripts or unpublished manuscript content to external AI systems unless confidentiality and data protection can be adequately assured and such use is authorized by the journal.

Where AI is used to assist editorial assessment, correspondence, copy-editing, or other publication processes, the responsible editor remains accountable for the accuracy, fairness, and appropriateness of the final decision or communication.

AI must not independently determine:

  • acceptance or rejection of manuscripts;

  • the outcome of peer review;

  • authorship disputes;

  • allegations of misconduct; or

  • other substantive editorial decisions.

Such decisions must remain under human editorial responsibility.

8. AI Detection Tools

Mumtaz: Journal of Islamic Education Management may use AI-detection or other technological tools as part of editorial screening when considered appropriate.

However, AI-detection results will not, by themselves, be considered conclusive evidence of misconduct.

AI-detection technologies may produce false positives or false negatives. Any concern regarding undisclosed or inappropriate AI use should therefore be assessed through appropriate editorial procedures and, where necessary, communication with the authors.

The journal may request clarification or disclosure from authors when there is a reasonable concern regarding the use of AI in a submitted manuscript.

9. Undisclosed or Inappropriate Use of AI

Failure to disclose substantive AI use, or inappropriate use of AI, may lead to editorial action.

Depending on the circumstances, the journal may:

  • request clarification from the authors;

  • require appropriate disclosure or revision;

  • request correction of the published article;

  • reject a manuscript;

  • retract or withdraw a published article where warranted; or

  • refer the matter for further investigation under the journal's research-integrity and publication-ethics procedures.

The appropriate action will depend on the nature, extent, and consequences of the AI-related issue.

10. Ethical and Islamic Values

As a journal focusing on Islamic Education Management, the journal emphasizes that the use of AI should remain consistent with principles of academic honesty, amanah (trustworthiness), responsibility, justice, and respect for intellectual contributions.

AI technology should function as an assistive tool rather than a substitute for scholarly responsibility.

Authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to exercise human judgment and ensure that the use of technology contributes to responsible scholarship and does not undermine the integrity of academic knowledge.

11. Responsibility of Authors

By submitting a manuscript to Mumtaz: Journal of Islamic Education Management, authors affirm that:

  1. the manuscript represents their own scholarly work;

  2. all authors have reviewed and approved the submitted manuscript;

  3. they remain responsible for all content, including content produced or modified with AI assistance;

  4. all sources and contributions have been appropriately acknowledged;

  5. AI-generated information has been critically evaluated and verified;

  6. no fabricated data, references, quotations, or research findings have been introduced through AI;

  7. any substantive use of AI has been appropriately disclosed; and

  8. the manuscript complies with the journal's publication-ethics requirements.

12. Policy Review

This AI Policy may be reviewed and updated periodically as AI technologies, scholarly publishing standards, legal requirements, and ethical guidance develop.

The journal may revise this policy to maintain responsible and transparent practices in scholarly publishing.

Mumtaz: Journal of Islamic Education Management