Apple has removed the “Quran Majeed” application from its App Store in China, in compliance with the requests of the Chinese government, according to a BBC report circulated by specialized technical sites.

And “Al-Quran Majeed” is a popular application for reading the Qur’an, and other information related to prayer such as the direction of the qiblah and times of prayers, supplications, the locations of nearby mosques, and many other religious services.

"The Glorious Qur'an" is one of the most popular religious applications in China, and it is available globally and has nearly 35 million users, according to PDMS, which designed the application.

The app will still be available in other countries on the App Store and Google Play, although Google Play is also technically not available in China (people can access it via VPN services which are virtual private network).

The site "Apple Censorship" - which monitors applications on the Apple App Store - was the first to notice the recent deletion of the "Quran Majeed" application.

China officially recognizes Islam as a religion, but has also faced criticism for human rights abuses and genocide against the Muslim Uighur population in Xinjiang.

"According to Apple, our application (the Glorious Qur'an) has been removed from the Apple App Store in China because it contains illegal content," BDMS said in a statement, adding, "We are trying to contact the relevant Chinese authorities to resolve this issue."

The Quran application provides many services to Muslim users such as reading the Quran, prayer times and Qibla direction (Al Jazeera)

Apple and comply with instructions

It is reported that Apple has faced a lot of controversy over the years about how to comply with local rules.

Critics believe that many of the local content-focused regulations in certain countries amount to censorship, and that Apple is too quick to comply.

Apple argues that its number one priority is to respect the laws of the countries in which it operates, regardless of whether they comply with regulations or not.

There are additional complications for Apple besides its obligation to follow the country's rules. China is one of the company's largest markets, and Apple also relies heavily on China to keep its hardware supply chain running.

A New York Times report had claimed that Apple is disrupting applications in China if the government does not like it.

The apps cannot discuss topics such as the events of Tiananmen Square, the Falun Gong spiritual cult, the Dalai Lama, and the independence of Tibet and Taiwan.

And the website "Nine to Five Mac" (9to5mac) - which specializes in Apple affairs - quoted the "Apple Sensorship" website, asking the American company to stand up to China, and face the consequences that may follow.

"Apple is currently being transferred to a supervisory office in Beijing," said Benjamin Ismail, project manager at Apple Sensorship. "They need to do the right thing, and then face any reaction from the Chinese government."

The developer said that it is currently in contact with the concerned authorities to find out the reason behind deleting its application (Al-Jazeera).

Many feel that even the huge revenue that Apple gets in Chinese sales is not worth the compromises that the company has to make in its values, but the problem is, of course, greatly complicated by Apple's heavy dependence on China to manufacture its most prominent devices (the iPhone).

Politicians in the United States accused Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, of hypocrisy for expressing his opinion about American policy when he criticized the entry ban imposed by former American President Donald Trump on 7 Muslim-majority peoples in 2017, his silence about Chinese policy, and his strong commitment With the instructions of its government regarding censorship and not to criticize it because of its policy that affects Muslims.

As for the Chinese government, it has not yet clarified the reason for its request to delete the “Majed Qur’an” application from the Apple Store in the country.