Article Withdrawal Policy

Khalifa: Journal of Islamic Education recognizes the importance of maintaining the integrity of the academic record. Published articles constitute a permanent scholarly archive and should remain accurate, accessible, and unchanged whenever possible.

However, in rare and exceptional circumstances, an article may require withdrawal, retraction, removal, or replacement. Such actions are taken seriously and only after careful consideration in accordance with international best practices and COPE Retraction Guidelines.

1. Article Withdrawal (Before Publication)

Article withdrawal applies only to articles in press (accepted manuscripts that have not yet been formally published in an issue and do not yet have complete bibliographic details).

An article may be withdrawn if:

  • It contains significant errors discovered before publication.
  • It is found to be an accidental duplicate submission.
  • It violates publication ethics (e.g., multiple submission, false authorship claims, plagiarism, fraudulent data).
  • There are serious ethical concerns confirmed by the Editorial Board.

Withdrawal Procedure:

  • The HTML and PDF versions of the article will be removed.
  • A replacement page will be posted stating that the article has been withdrawn in accordance with the journal’s policy.
  • The metadata (title and authors) may be retained for transparency.
  • The decision will be documented by the Editorial Board.

Authors requesting withdrawal must submit a formal written request signed by all authors, clearly stating the reasons. Withdrawal is not effective until written confirmation is issued by the Editorial Office. Unethical withdrawal (e.g., withdrawing after acceptance due to acceptance by another journal) is strictly prohibited.

2. Article Retraction (After Publication)

Retraction applies to articles that have already been formally published.

Retraction may occur due to:

  • Proven plagiarism or self-plagiarism
  • Fabrication or falsification of data
  • Multiple or redundant publication
  • False authorship claims
  • Serious ethical violations
  • Major errors that invalidate the findings

Retraction Procedure:

  • A retraction notice titled:
    “Retraction: [Article Title]”
    will be published in the next available issue.
  • The notice will be signed by the Editor-in-Chief and/or authors.
  • The electronic version will contain a clear link to the retraction notice.
  • The PDF version of the article will remain available but marked with a watermark stating “Retracted” on each page.
  • The HTML full-text version may be removed and replaced with a retraction notice page.

The retraction process follows COPE Retraction Guidelines to ensure transparency and preservation of the scholarly record.

3. Article Removal (Legal Limitations)

In extremely rare cases, an article may need to be removed entirely from the online database due to:

  • Defamatory content
  • Court orders
  • Legal infringement of third-party rights
  • Content posing serious health or public safety risks

In such cases:

  • The article text will be removed.
  • A notice explaining that the article has been removed for legal reasons will replace the content.
  • Metadata (title and authors) will remain visible for transparency.

4. Article Replacement

If an article contains significant errors that may pose serious academic or practical consequences but does not warrant full retraction:

  • The original article may be retracted.
  • A corrected and revised version may be published.
  • A document history will be provided.
  • The retraction notice will link to the updated version.