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GUEST EDITORSProf. Ahmad Yousif • Prof. Abdulaziz Sachedina • Dr. Ermin SinanovicReligious tolerance and mutual respect among members of different religious communities is vital in  today’s global context. Citizens must learn to develop empathy by recognizing and understanding  the religious and cultural “other” living among them. This tolerance, an imperative in today’s  multifaith and multicultural societies, also calls for intrafaith tolerance and respect within  Muslim communities. Can the Qur’anic concept of ummatan wasata become the source of overall  wasatiyyah (moderation and equilibrium) promoted by Islam from its very early days? The classical  notion of wasatiyyah can serve as a critical religious instrument to both further and maintain  social cohesion founded upon the twin principles of justice and peaceful coexistence. From Islam’s  early days, this notion has been of paramount importance to many Muslim thinkers. Contemporary  social scientists, intellectuals, policymakers, and religious leaders who are aware of minority  religious groups’ increasing calls for greater political autonomy and participation in shaping  their own destiny are once again demanding lasting solutions to discrimination and mutual  dehumanization of the “other” in our midst.This special issue invites scholars to reflect upon and respond to the notion of mutual respect and acceptance in order to provide a “stepping stone” for further study and research on applying wasatiyyah and to reflect upon the ongoing accomplishments and challenges, particularly in Muslim societies.THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ISLAMIC SOCIAL SCIENCES INVITES•  Social sciences and humanities-based research papers reflecting on all aspects of applyingwasatiyyah in contemporary Muslim societies.•  Book reviews related to the theme.•  Shorter reflection pieces of 2,000-3,000 words.SUGGESTED TOPICS•  Theoretical papers examining the successes/failures of applying wasatiyyah in contemporary societies.•  Historical studies of underlying structural forces in contemporary applications of wasatiyyah.•  Case studies, qualitative interviews, and oral histories of key people or organizations on the application of wasatiyyah in the Muslim world.•  The impact of political institutions, media, religious authorities, women’s groups, and youth on promoting moderation.•  Critical studies of the work of scholars who seek to apply wasatiyyah in their societies.•  The authority of modern ulama in promoting/resisting religious moderation.•  In-depth explorations of the Muslim world’s prevalent political systems, their power structures, and their ability to promote/oppose religious moderation.•  Muslim responses to specific issues: democracy, pluralism and tolerance; freedom of religion and conscience, women’s rights and equality of all citizens; legal and economic reforms in the context of the modern nation-state.•  Experience of Muslims living as minorities in majority non-Muslim or majority sectarian situations and their take on wasatiyyah.•  The role of Muslim educational institutions, intellectuals, secular nationalism or modernization in reinforcing wasatiyyah in contemporary societies.Regular research papers should be 7,000-10,000 words. All submissions must conform to AJISS guidelines: be original, unpublished research; double-spaced and single-sided; and conform to the Chicago Style. HOW TO CONTRIBUTE•  Send immediately a brief note of intent to contribute.•  Send the completed paper by January 15, 2015 as an attachment in MS-Word, with a 250-wordAbstract and a short bio, simultaneously to : director.wasatiyyah@iium.edu.my; asachedi@gmu.edu; erminsinanovic@gmail.com; zibrahim@fullerton.eduSubmission Deadline: January 15, 2015Decision Date: March 16, 2015Publication Date: July 2015The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences (AJISS) is a double blind peer- reviewed and  interdisciplinary journal published by the International Institute of Islamic Thought. AJISS  publishes a wide variety of peer-reviewed scholarly re- search on all facets of Islam and the  Muslim world: politics, history, economic philosophy, metaphysics, psychology, religious law, and  Islamic thought, employing both empirical and theoretical analysis. AJISS aims to provide a forum  for high-quality original research and critical dialogue and discussion, advancing both application  of social sciences to the study of Islam and the Muslim world and an analysis of the social  sciences. In addition, AJISS includes insightful reviews of published books of interest to our  subscribers, as well as forum articles and conference reports.