Safa Jafari Safa, Office of Communications, communications@aub.edu.lb
The internationally refereed journal of the American University of Beirut, Al-Abhath has been accepted for Scopus indexation, an international recognition quality and research excellence exhibited in its papers.
The indexation comes after assessment by the Scopus Content Selection and Advisory Board (CSAB) on a set of rigorous criteria, including research impact, editorial processes, and overall reputation with the academic community.
Covering more than 7,000 publishers in 330 disciplines, Scopus incorporates more than two million meticulously reviewed documents. A multidisciplinary database of peer-reviewed literature, it delivers a prestigious multidisciplinary database and a comprehensive overview of the world's research output—journals, books, and conference proceedings—in the fields of science, technology, medicine, social science, and arts and humanities.
“The inclusion of Al-Abhath in Scopus is a testament to its academic quality and a reflection of AUB's role as a frontrunner in promoting scholarly excellence within the region," stated the co-editors of Al-Abhath, AUB professors, Dr. Ramzi Baalbaki and Dr. Bilal Orfali. “It addresses a long-standing gap for Arabic academic journals and establishes a new standard for academic excellence. Our next target is to make Al-Abhath open access."
Al-Abhath is one of the few peer-reviewed academic journals in the Arab world, it is of scholarship on the culture, history, literature and languages of the Arab world and the Middle East. Originally titled The Journal of the Center for Arab and Middle East Studies, Al-Abhath was first published in 1948 as a quarterly for Arab Studies. It is published annually by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at AUB in Brill's publications, which includes several major distinguished imprints and publishing high quality titles in the humanities and social sciences, as well as international law and selected areas in the sciences. Appearing in both Arabic and English, the journal covers many fields of interest focusing on the Arab world, including Arab and Islamic studies, sociology, numismatics, history, economics, language, psychology, and astrology. It has been appearing in one annual volume since 1970, and is considered to play a leading role as a point of reference in academia.
Enhancing journal visibility, credibility, and global recognition, Scopus indexing requires adherence to rigorous publishing standards and continuous quality content. Al-Abhath is one of the first fully Arabic humanities journals to receive this distinction, a landmark achievement for AUB, its Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and the field of Arabic humanities academia.
Indexation reviewer comments referred to the consistent quality and relevance of the journal's articles to international academic and professional audiences in the field, in addition to attracting citations by other titles covered by Scopus and adhering to high research and publishing standards.
Confident that this development will further elevate AUB's academic prestige and create new avenues for growth and opportunity for AUB faculty and students, the co-editors of Al-Abhath expressed the aim to continue to revitalize this platform of knowledge as a point of reference for academics in the region.