WikiIslam:Standardization
Standardization of content is important. The more standardized WikiIslam is, the more readable its text is, the better the impression it makes on readers, and the easier it is to edit an article.
Templates
Templates are one of the tools that WikiIslam uses to standardize its content. These templates:
- Act like a black box so the editor can just type and the template does all of the standardization.
- Allow quick and easy changes to the standard; changes which immediately affects all text that used that template.
Citation template
For non Quran/hadith citations, always use the "Citation" template. At present, several other templates for citations exist (such as "Cite Web Quotebox" template, "Cite Book" template, and "Cite" template), however these templates should not be used. These other templates for citation exist for now only because site administrators are in the process of removing these templates, which will take some time since much of the older content on the site is formatted using the several other, older, and messier templates for citations.
Quotation Boxes and Islamic Text
Templates make it easy to cite Islamic sources. For example, instead of finding the exact USC-MSA URL of a Qur'an verse or hadith, all that is needed is to type {{Muslim|7|88}} and the reference and link is automatically created. A list of templates that are available for use can bee found on the WikiIslam:Citing Sources page.
Spelling
All pages should be written using the American English spelling. This is due to their relative popularity and the need to make a choice between one or the other for consistency, and is not a show of favoritism. Some Internet browsers come with built in spell-checkers which should come in useful for those who are not familiar with the difference between UK and US spelling. Also see this page on Wikipedia.
Transliteration of Arabic words
Standardized spelling of transliterated Arabic words and names is important due to the subject matter of WikiIslam. Over time, an article may be modified by numerous editors, often leaving it with multiple spelling variations of a single word. Below is a brief list of the most often transliterated words:
Islam, Qur'an, Hadith, Taurat, Injil, Tafsirs, Sirah, Surah, Jahannam, Jannah, Muslim, Muhammad, Aisha, Jibreel, Jizyah, Zakat, Ka'aba, Shari'ah, Caliph, Umar, Abu Bakr, Jihad, Mecca, Medina, Shaykh
Capitalization
Section headings
Use title-case for capitalization of headings. Thus "Section Headings" and not "Section headings".
The same applies to the titles of articles. Minor words (such as "a, an, the, at, by, for, in, of, on, to, up, and, as, but, it, or, and nor") should be left in small caps. See this link for details.