Conflict of Interest

QRO: Journal of Islamic Education is committed to ensuring transparency, objectivity, and integrity throughout the research, peer-review, and publication processes. A conflict of interest may arise when financial, professional, personal, academic, or institutional relationships could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the judgment, interpretation, or decisions of authors, editors, or reviewers.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily indicate misconduct. However, failure to disclose relevant conflicts may compromise the credibility of scholarly work and the fairness of editorial decisions. IQRO therefore requires all parties involved in the publication process to disclose relevant conflicts of interest and manage them appropriately.

1. Authors' Responsibilities

All authors must disclose any financial and non-financial interests that could reasonably be perceived as influencing their research, interpretation of findings, or conclusions. Relevant conflicts may include, but are not limited to:

  • Financial support, research grants, sponsorships, consulting fees, or other financial relationships.

  • Employment, institutional affiliations, or professional appointments that may influence the research.

  • Personal relationships, collaborations, or academic disputes that could affect objectivity.

  • Intellectual or professional commitments that may influence the interpretation or presentation of research findings.

  • Institutional or commercial interests related to the subject of the manuscript.

Authors must disclose relevant funding sources and explain the role of funders or sponsors in the research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and decision to submit the work for publication, where applicable.

If no relevant conflicts of interest exist, authors should include the following statement in their manuscript:

"The authors declare no conflict of interest."

All disclosures must be accurate, complete, and provided at the time of manuscript submission. Authors are responsible for updating the editorial office if relevant circumstances change during the review or publication process.

2. Editors' Responsibilities

Editors must evaluate manuscripts objectively and independently, based on their scholarly merit, relevance, originality, methodological rigor, and contribution to the field, without inappropriate influence from personal, financial, institutional, or professional interests.

Editors who have a conflict of interest involving a submitted manuscript must disclose the conflict and withdraw from handling the manuscript. The editorial office will assign the manuscript to another qualified editor who can make an independent editorial decision.

Potential editorial conflicts may include close personal or professional relationships with an author, recent collaboration, institutional affiliation, financial interests, direct competition, or involvement in the research being evaluated.

Editorial decisions must not be influenced by commercial interests, sponsorship, institutional pressure, or personal relationships.

3. Reviewers' Responsibilities

Reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that could affect their ability to provide an objective and impartial assessment.

Reviewers should decline an invitation when they have relationships or interests that could compromise their independence, including close collaboration with an author, personal relationships, financial interests, direct academic competition, or involvement in the research under review.

If a potential conflict becomes apparent after accepting a review invitation, the reviewer must notify the editor promptly. The editor will determine whether the review may proceed or whether another reviewer should be appointed.

Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of manuscript content and must not use unpublished information obtained during peer review for personal, professional, or financial advantage.

4. Disclosure and Management of Conflicts

IQRO requires authors, editors, and reviewers to disclose relevant conflicts of interest at the appropriate stage of the publication process.

The editorial team will assess disclosed conflicts and determine whether they require additional safeguards, reassignment of editorial responsibility, replacement of reviewers, further disclosure, or other appropriate measures.

The journal may request additional information or clarification when a disclosure is incomplete or when circumstances suggest that an undisclosed conflict may exist.

Failure to disclose a relevant conflict of interest may result in editorial action, including rejection of a manuscript, reassessment of an editorial decision, publication of a correction, or other measures appropriate to the circumstances.

5. Funding Disclosure

Authors must identify all sources of financial support for the research, including grants, institutional funding, sponsorships, and other material assistance, where applicable.

Authors should state whether the funder had any role in the design of the study, data collection, analysis, interpretation, preparation of the manuscript, or decision to submit the article for publication.

If the funder had no involvement in these activities, authors are encouraged to state this explicitly. Funding disclosure does not automatically constitute a conflict of interest, but transparent reporting enables readers to assess the research independently.

6. Conflicts of Interest in Published Articles

If a relevant conflict of interest is identified after publication, IQRO will assess the circumstances and determine whether corrective action is necessary.

Depending on the nature and significance of the undisclosed information, the journal may publish a correction, issue an expression of concern, or take other appropriate action in accordance with its publication ethics policy.

Where a conflict of interest raises substantial concerns about the reliability or integrity of a published article, the journal may initiate a further investigation and consider retraction when justified by the evidence.

7. Commitment to Transparency

IQRO: Journal of Islamic Education is committed to maintaining an editorial environment in which scholarly work is assessed fairly, independently, and transparently. All authors, editors, and reviewers share responsibility for disclosing and appropriately managing conflicts of interest.

Through clear disclosure requirements and impartial editorial procedures, the journal seeks to protect the credibility of published research and maintain the trust of authors, reviewers, readers, and the wider academic community.