THE IMKANAT PROJECT
A concept paper outlining the vision, mission, editorial policy, governance structure, and publication plan.
Why THE IMKANAT Project?
The current age confronts the new generation with two major challenges:
- Intellectual disarray, mutual mistrust, weakness in scholarship, and the crisis of religious and cultural identity among the youth.
- A psychology of distrust and despair arising from the current political, social, educational, economic, and religious/sectarian situation.
To address these challenges, the Imkanat Project is a multi-dimensional initiative built around an appropriate vision and strategy. For now, however, the project is being launched with a quarterly online journal.
QUARTERLY ONLINE JOURNAL
At a time when the Muslim Ummah faces severe intellectual division, social polarization, and moral challenges — and its younger generations face despair, disillusionment, anxiety, disengagement, and a crisis of identity — there is an urgent need for a credible platform that fosters meaningful dialogue without any compromise on truthfulness and integrity.
Imkanat is a research journal and digital platform dedicated to fostering scholarly dialogue, intellectual engagement, and constructive collaboration among our scholarly traditions, and among representative scholars, credible experts, researchers, and public intellectuals from different schools of thought.
Rather than attempting to suppress disagreement, Imkanat is a serious effort to revive the ancient Islamic tradition of scholarly disagreement and its etiquette (adab al-ikhtilaf).
The journal will present high-quality research, critique, policy debates, translations, interviews, book reviews, and dialogues and lectures on the contemporary issues facing Muslims worldwide.
Vision & Mission
Vision: The continuation of a distinguished, credible, and dignified intellectual and research journal that plays a leading role in promoting knowledge, wisdom, and positive social change — one that, through its scholarly standard, intellectual balance, and contemporary relevance, becomes an authoritative platform for serious dialogue among scholarly readers, academics, intellectuals, and youth.
Mission:
- Analysis and critique of atheism, apostasy, and modern Western thought and ideologies.
- A continuing series of healthy scholarly and civil dialogue on inter-sectarian issues.
- Fostering meaningful dialogue between the Islamic scholarly tradition and contemporary sciences, and establishing balance between tradition and modernity.
- Promoting critical consciousness, constructive thought, and a tradition of serious scholarly dialogue.
- Career guidance, counseling, economic awareness, and character-building for youth.
- Encouraging the intellectual and research capabilities of young writers, researchers, and intellectuals.
- Expressing collective wisdom rather than dependence on any single individual or circle.
- Seeking practical and realistic solutions to contemporary issues in light of deep analysis and research.
- Scholarly and intellectual connection among religious and academic centers, political and social leaderships, policymakers, and intellectual circles.
- Promoting the values of knowledge, ethics, wisdom, and service to humanity that form the foundation of a just, civilized, peaceful, and prosperous society.
- Building intellectual capital by documenting new ideas, research debates, successful social experiments and initiatives, and positive change.
- Establishing an independent scholarly platform that promotes both intellectual diversity and unity, and contributes to the moral, educational, social, and cultural development of the Ummah.
Core Values: Scholarly Integrity, Intellectual Integrity, Etiquette of Dialogue, Respect for Disagreement, Authentic Scholarship, Social Responsibility, Collective Interest
Rationale
Contemporary Muslim discourse often fragments into isolated intellectual circles. Many scholarly institutions work independently, even as modern minds are increasingly drawn to questions such as these, seeking well-considered answers:
Faith And Modernity, Education And Its Purposes, Constitutional Values And Religious Matters, Ethics, Atheism, And Permissiveness, Family And Society, Economy, Science And Technology, Media, Environment, Artificial Intelligence
Unfortunately, very few journals exist where experts from different traditions can collectively contribute to addressing these issues. Imkanat aims to fill this gap.
Goals
Scholarly Collaboration, Quality Output, Human Capital, Institutional Capacity, Serious Dialogue, Mutual Trust, Young Researchers, Heritage Preservation, Ethical Leadership, Knowledge Archive, Collective Impact, A Think Tank
In sum: fostering scholarly and intellectual collaboration; producing quality scholarly output; building scholarly human capital and institutional capacity; encouraging serious dialogue and publishing quality research; fostering mutual trust; encouraging young researchers; preserving the Islamic intellectual heritage; devising strategies for contemporary intellectual and communal challenges; promoting ethical leadership; establishing an archive of modern Islamic knowledge and scholarship; guiding the community and generating collective impact; and forming a think tank capable of charting the course from reflection, to planning, to implementation.
EDITORIAL FRAMEWORK
Principles and Foundations
- Keeping human and Muslim interests in view, in harmony between reason and revelation.
- Not insisting on any single interpretation of the Qur’an and Sunnah, but striving to follow the majority position of the Ummah.
- Promoting common ground and articulating points of disagreement in a scholarly and civil manner.
- Giving equal respect to scholars from all schools of thought.
- Adopting a scholarly, objective style and avoiding a polemical tone.
Editorial Policy
- Double-blind peer review
- Publication of original research
- Adherence to citation standards
- Standard language and a respectful tone
- Avoidance of sectarian disputes
- Absolutely no political propaganda
Target Audience & Readership
Scholars & Researchers, Seminaries, Colleges & Universities, Civil Society, Libraries, Think Tanks, Policymakers, Students, Journalists, Young Intellectuals
Content Sections
- Editorial: The institution’s views, perspectives, introductions, and analyses.
- Dialogue: An objective series of dialogues on inter-sectarian beliefs and issues.
- Ethics: A series on self-purification, moral training, and character-building.
- Thought: Classical and modern intellectual traditions.
- Contemporary Affairs: Critical analysis of current debates.
- Research: Quality scholarly papers on Islamic studies, science, social sciences, law and constitutions, philosophy, ideologies, and movements.
- Opinion: Short scholarly and intellectual contributions.
- Reviews: Introduction to and analysis of new scholarly books.
- Newsletter: News about seminars, conferences, and scholarly initiatives.
Note: It is not necessary for every issue to include all sections. Some issues may also be devoted to special themes.
Writing Guidelines
The following will be observed in the preparation of papers and articles:
- The article should be intellectually engaging and constructive, and the paper should be scholarly, research-based, and properly referenced, with citations drawn from authentic, primary sources.
- The article or paper must be the author’s own original research; it must not have been previously published, and must be free of plagiarism.
- Except in exceptional cases, papers and articles will generally be published in a single installment.
- Papers and articles will only be accepted in Word file format.
- The review board may, as needed, return a submission to the author for revision and correction.
- Copyright of published papers will belong solely to the journal.
- Citations will follow the Chicago style format, as below.
- Format: Author’s name, Book Title (City of publication: Publisher, Year of publication), Page number.
- Example: Muhammad Aslam, Ilm-e-Tarikh dar Barr-e-Saghir [The Science of History in the Subcontinent] (Lahore: Majlis-e-Ishaat-e-Adab, 2021), 145.
GOVERNANCE
Editorial Structure
The journal’s editorial structure will operate on consultative (shura) principles. This structure will be formed for a one-year term after each Ashura of Muharram. The organization will operate on three levels:
I. Board of Directors: The Board of Directors consists of three members and is responsible for managing the journal’s finances, ensuring the availability of necessary funds, safeguarding financial resources, and overseeing their proper use.
- Level: Board of Directors
- Number of Members: 3
- Role: Financial oversight and management.
- Responsibilities:
- Provide the necessary funds for the journal.
- Safeguard the journal’s financial resources.
- Ensure the proper and transparent use of funds.
II. Editorial Board: The Editorial Board oversees the journal’s editorial operations, content preparation, publication process, and digital presence. It comprises the following positions:
1. Chief Editor: The Chief Editor is responsible for managing each issue from initial planning to final publication.
- Role: Overall editorial leadership.
- Responsibilities:
- Plan and coordinate each issue.
- Supervise the editorial process.
- Ensure the timely completion and publication of each issue.
2. Editors: The Editorial Board includes two editors who assist the Chief Editor in preparing each issue and coordinating with contributors.
- Role: Editorial support and content management.
- Responsibilities:
- Liaise with contributors.
- Assist in preparing and revising articles.
- Coordinate the editorial workflow.
- Prepare content for online publication.
3. Digital Editors: The Editorial Board includes two digital editors responsible for the magazine’s digital presentation and online presence.
- Role: Digital publishing and design.
- Responsibilities:
- Design the magazine’s digital layout.
- Upload published content.
- Maintain and update the magazine’s online platform.
4. Advisors: The Advisory Board comprises individuals from diverse backgrounds who represent different schools of thought.
- Role: Academic guidance and consultation.
- Responsibilities:
- Provide scholarly advice and guidance.
- Encourage intellectual diversity.
- Offer perspectives from different academic and intellectual traditions.
III. Review Board: The Review Board consists of five members responsible for evaluating the scholarly quality and research standards of submitted papers and determining their suitability for publication.
- Level: Review Board
- Number of Members: 5
- Role: Scholarly evaluation and quality assurance.
- Responsibilities:
- Assess the academic quality of submitted papers.
- Evaluate the originality, relevance, and research standards of manuscripts.
- Determine whether submissions meet the journal’s publication criteria.
- Recommend papers for acceptance, revision, or rejection based on scholarly merit.
One of the five review-board members will be the Chief Editor himself. The final decision will be by majority opinion, and at least three opinions must be received on any paper. In the event of a tie, the Chief Editor’s opinion will be counted as equal to two votes.
Publication & Circulation
- Frequency: Quarterly — four issues per year
- Estimated size: 150–200 pages per issue
- Languages: Urdu / English
- Format: Digital edition, PDF, mobile-friendly website, digital archive
- Printing: Digital printing
- Distribution: Website · social media · email newsletter · postal mail
Sustainability Strategy
Long-term sustainability will rely on multiple funding sources rather than a single one, including: participant fees and sponsorships; other donations as needed; advertisements; published volumes of revised journal content; and book publications.
Estimated Annual Budget
The current estimate for online publication is approximately ₹150,000 (one lakh fifty thousand). Offline publication will be produced on demand.
Expected Outcomes — Two Years
If this thought-provoking, constructive journal can be sustained for at least two years, the following outcomes are expected:
- A nationally recognized intellectual journal.
- Contributions from more than 200 scholars across various schools of thought and communities.
- Establishment of an authentic repository of contemporary Islamic scholarship.
- Strong academic partnerships with universities and seminaries.
- An active network of young researchers.
- Promotion of a culture of scholarly dialogue and respectful disagreement.
- An increase in the volume of quality research addressing the problems of the Muslim community.
After this phase, we will be in a position to discuss the further dimensions of this project.
