What We Publish
Seven formats, each with its own scope and conventions. Click any format to read the full description and word count guidelines.
Original analysis on a clearly defined question within one of our focus areas. An essay advances a specific argument — a claim about the world that could be disputed and that the piece defends with evidence and reasoning. It does not survey a topic. It takes a position on one.
A focused, timely response to a current event, policy development, legal ruling, or recent publication. Commentary should be pointed: one or two arguments made with precision and urgency. We aim to publish accepted commentaries within two weeks of submission.
A critical assessment of a recently published book relevant to our focus areas. A good review locates the book within its field, assesses its contribution honestly, and engages substantively with its arguments. Written for an informed general reader. Summary is not analysis. Description is not evaluation.
Evidence-based analysis directed at a specific policy question, with clear and actionable recommendations. The intended reader is an informed non-specialist. Dense theoretical framing should be avoided. The argument should be consequential and the recommendations concrete enough to act on.
First-person writing that uses personal experience as a way into wider questions of identity, community, or culture. The best personal essays hold uncertainty, let complexity breathe, and register lived experience with literary ambition and intellectual substance. The writer must have something at stake beyond the argument.
A direct intellectual response to a piece published on Nahj Institute. Authors of the original piece will be offered a right of reply. Responses must engage with the argument itself, not merely reassert a contrary position. Steelman what you disagree with before you dispute it.
We accept up to six poems per submission in English, Urdu, Farsi, Kashmiri, Hindi, or Arabic. Translations alongside originals are strongly encouraged. We look for formal command and work that speaks to questions of meaning, loss, beauty, and political reality. Short personal essays, narrative reportage, and literary memoir up to 3,000 words are also welcome.
What We Look For
These standards apply to all submissions regardless of type or language.
Argument over assertion
Advance a clearly identifiable argument — a claim that could be disputed and that your piece defends. Thematic surveys are not essays.
Evidence over authority
Ground claims in primary sources, empirical data, or close textual analysis. Citation of respected figures is not a substitute for argument.
Accessible without being simple
Write for an intelligent general reader. Minimise jargon. Specialised terms should be glossed on first use.
Intellectual honesty
Engage seriously with the strongest counterarguments. We are particularly alert to motivated reasoning in politically sensitive areas.
Respectful engagement
We do not publish writing that demeans communities, individuals, or traditions. This is not a restriction on argument. It is a standard of conduct.
- Writing that is primarily polemical without analytical substance
- Institutional press releases or advocacy material, regardless of framing
- Previously published work unless substantially revised and disclosed
- Writing that demeans individuals, communities, or traditions
- Unsourced claims about living individuals that could constitute defamation
- Conspiracy theories or pseudoscientific claims
Focus Areas
We give particular attention to submissions in these four areas, though we consider strong work from adjacent fields on a case-by-case basis.
Philosophy & Theology
Classical and contemporary philosophy, theology, ethics, and metaphysics. The enduring questions of justice, human agency, consciousness, and the nature of knowledge.
Politics & Society
Political thought, governance, and legitimacy in the Muslim world and the Global South. Economic justice, media, and the structural forces shaping societies.
History & Culture
The intellectual history of the Muslim world and the Global South. Recovering marginalised traditions, decolonising the canon, and understanding what the past offers the present.
Science & Ethics
Bioethics, artificial intelligence, environmental thought, and the enduring question of what it means to be human, in dialogue with contemporary scientific inquiry.
Formatting Requirements
Short pieces (up to 1,000 words) via the online form. Longer manuscripts as .docx to submissions@nahjinstitute.com.
Microsoft Word (.docx). Do not submit PDFs. Minimal formatting only — standard headings, no custom styles.
Chicago author-date. Footnotes preferred over endnotes. Bibliography required for essays and policy briefs.
100–150 words required for essays and policy briefs. Not required for commentary, reviews, or poetry.
50–80 words in the third person. Include institutional affiliation, research interests, and any relevant disclosures.
Remove all identifying information from the manuscript body before submission.
Review Process
Every submission receives a substantive response. We commit to four weeks from receipt to decision.