WikiIslam:Writing Style Guide
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This page expands on guideline #6 on our policies and guidelines page which is:
- 6. (content on WikiIslam should) be written in a professional scholarly manner and where possible, should refrain from using sensationalist and extremist expressions and labels for maximum impact on the reader. This is extremely important. If any critique of Islam is expected to be taken seriously, it must follow these principles. Although it is very tempting to use dramatic and sensationalist language, it is best to let the evidence speak for itself. The same principle applies to humor and jokes. If you would like to contribute such articles to the wiki, please keep them confined to the Humor category
Content should be written in a way so it is taken seriously and is respected. The author should imagine that journalists and researchers are reading the page and looking for data. They want to read information that is written in a professional manner so they can trust it.
Frequently its hard for new editors to know how we do things, what is appropriate and what is not. This table gives some examples of correct and incorrect styles of writing:
| Incorrect Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination
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Corrected File:Checkmark.svg | Notes |
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| Because of this double standard, countries such as France, Belgium, Italy, and the Netherlands have banned people concealing their identity in public completely. | Because of this conflicting standard, [...] | The term double-standard should be replaced |
| Time would show that Aisha was confident, spirited, strong-willed and highly intelligent – she had indeed “some of the qualities of Khadijah”. | (avoid) | This sentence draws conclusions from text that can be debated. There are no hadiths that mention explictly that Aisha was 'intelligent', 'strong willed' and so on. We are here to report facts and not to give our own opinions and deductions. |
| he must have been a good stepfather to Hala and Hind, for they remained unswervingly loyal to him. | (avoid) | Once again we're drawing conclusions that are not present in the original text. |
| Ayesha even started a war against her old enemy Ali, causing ten thousand Muslims to kill each other in one day. | Ayesha started a war against her old enemy Ali, causing ten thousand Muslims to kill each other in one day. | Avoid writing in an emotional, dramatic style. State the facts and nothing else. This is what the reader wants to know. |
| Juwayriya was sweet-natured, charming and as alluringly beautiful as a fairy; men became infatuated with her at first sight. | Juwayriya was described in some hadiths as "jinnya" which some dictionaries translate to "angel like". | We are replacing our own conclusions or exaggerations with facts. |
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