Tech giant, Apple has deleted Quran Majeed, one of the world’s most popular Quran applications in the China from its store on the request of government officials.
Quran Majeed is developed and owned by Pakistan Data Management Services (PDMS) and describes itself as “one of the top Islamic apps with close to 40 million users worldwide“.
The app offers a digitised version of the Quran in Arabic, accompanied by translations into various languages, a mosque finder, various Quran reciters, prayer time alarms and a compass for finding qibla, the direction of Islamic prayer.
PDMS in a statement, said, “according to Apple, our app Quran Majeed has been removed from the China App store because it includes content that requires additional documentation from Chinese authorities.”
The company’s Head of Growth, Hasan Shafiq Ahmed said the company is “trying to get in touch with CAC and relevant Chinese authorities, so Quran Majeed app can be restored in China App store, as we have close to a million users in China that have been impacted“.
PDMS representative added that, “as per our understanding, Chinese law requires additional documentation for some apps to be available on the App Store on the Chinese mainland,” Ahmed said, “apps with book and magazine content must secure an internet publishing permit from China’s National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA).”
The PDMS representative did not say whether his company had secured such a permit.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist Party officially recognizes Islam as a religion, its reported treatment of Muslim Turkic Uyghur inhabitants living in China’s strategic and resource-rich Xinjiang province. Various reports of human rights abuses, including forced sterilisation and forced labour have surfaced from the region but not much has changed. However, Chinese government activities have been condemned by worldwide.
