Apple censors China’s biggest Quran app
China is Apple’s biggest market, so when the Middle Kingdom looks big, the apple company is at attention. Recently, the Quran Majeed app was simply withdrawn from the App Store at Beijing’s request….
Quran Majeed (Quran Majeed on the App Store where the Google play store French-speaking) is a very popular application that allows you to read and be read to the sacred texts of Islam. But strangely, Apple has removed the app from its Chinese store following a request from local authorities. Used by 35 million Muslims around the world without ever having posed the slightest problem so far, Coran Majeed is accused by Beijing of containing “illegal” texts, without further clarification. As for the developer of the app, we are also in the dark. They are waiting for more information from the Chinese while trying to contact the body in charge of these decisions.
#Quran Majeed app “was removed for hosting illegal religious texts.” Big tech bowing in compliance to fascist regimes. https://t.co/9yBXak3M1B
– Joseph Lumbard, شاكر عبد الحق (@JosephLumbard) October 15, 2021
The Koran not in the odor of holiness?
Even though the Chinese government officially recognizes Islam as a religion, some see a connection between the removal of the app and the actions taken against the predominantly Muslim Uyghur people. Apple is hiding behind its human rights policy which can be summed up as: ” even if we disagree, we are obligated to comply with local laws “. This is particularly what they have recently done in Russia (jointly with Google) with the withdrawal of the “smart voting” application of the opponent Navalny. We knew that China was very sensitive to Taiwan or Tian’anmen, but with regard to the Koran, it is a novelty. Attention, to better pass this censorship, Beijing is using a trick to pass the pill.
Do you have the permit?
Because it’s not the only app that’s gone. Recently Bible App by Olive Tree has been withdrawn, but this time by decision of the developer himself. Indeed, to distribute in China an application with editorial content (book or magazine), you now need a license. Without this permit, officials preferred to remove the application from the Store to avoid angering the Chinese giant. But even the biggest do not risk it since Audible, the audiobook service of Amazon has withdrawn its application from the Apple Store in mainland China.
