MuslimPro

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Muslim Pro is a mobile application (app) designed with the purpose to assist Muslims with their religious activities such as fasting and praying. It is the most popular Islamic religious application available on both Android and iOS. It provides services to over 100 million users[1].

Downloads

Muslim Pro’s website tracks the number of downloads it has across Android and iOS devices. As of April 13, 2021, that number is 103,420,005 downloads[2].

Features

Muslim Pro has features that aim to help the users keep track of their daily religious activities and features that serve as tools for the user to live a comprehensive religious lifestyle for the Muslim community[3]:

  • Muslim Pro sends reminders to users of accurate and verified prayer times and Adhan in correspondence to their current time zone. This feature is based on the time zones of major cities across the world. There is an option to have these reminders be audio notifications with a selection of voices for the user’s preference[4].
  • The Holy Quran is available for reading or listening in over 40 languages. This feature also allows the users to keep track of their Reading Progress, and verses can be favorited to the user’s digital Holy Quran and be shared outside of the mobile application[3].
  • Qibla is a feature that gives directions to Mecca from your current location to perform the Salah.
  • This application has over 40 language translations for the Holy Quran with Arabic scripts, phonetics, translations, and audio recitations with different voices. It also provides a colored Tajweed to help the user improve their pronunciation when they are reading the Holy Quran[3].
  • The user can recite appropriate Duas to increase their daily supplications. The Duas are derived from the Hisn’ul Muslim section on Muslim Pro and access to it for any time[3].

Background

Muslim Pro was created by the founder and former CEO of Bitsmedia, Erwan Mace[5]in 2010, a French national and former employee of Southeast Asia Google. It was founded in Singapore and grew to have staff across three different countries. As of today, Muslim countries like Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as countries with large Muslim minorities like France, the United States, and the United Kingdom, have the highest number of downloads respectively[6].

Muslim Pro Icon

Muslim Pro was founded in Singapore by Mace in 2010. It is developed and supported by a Singapore-based company known as Bitsmedia. The initial release consisted of prayer time reminders and assistance with reading the Holy Quran. The app has since evolved to provide more features to the users such as finding nearby Halal food. In 2019, Erwan Mace stepped down as Bitsmedia CEO and was replaced by Louis-Bernard Carcouet. [7]

Muslim Pro and similar religious apps were born from the need to keep religious content accessible for people who don't have time to worship in a traditional sense [8]. Although the infusion with technology is looked down on by some members of Islam[8], the power of the internet is being used to ensure that Muslims stay relevant given technological innovation [9]. Smartphone apps have filled the place where personal interaction historically reigned, causing some controversy between a young and old member of religious communities.

Functionality

Muslim Pro Home Screen [10]

Muslim Pro is available on the Apple App Store (iPhone), Google Play (Android), BlackBerry World, and it's web-based at www.muslimpro.com. The app is designed to help Muslims observe their religious practices and accommodate users based on their location. The app provides reminders to users about prayer times, a compass to help orient their position in prayers towards the Ka’ba, and a digital version of the Holy Quran available in 40 different languages.[11] The app utilizes location services to help Muslims find local halal food, along with finding the nearest mosques in their local area. Muslim Pro provides assistance within the holy month of Ramadan helping users keep track of their fasting based on their location. The app can help Muslims plan out their pilgrimage (or Hajj) and allows for connecting with other Muslims on the app by sharing posts related to Islam on the application timeline. [12]

Muslim Pro utilizes ads to help pay for their expenses and also provides the option of a subscription model which allows users to avoid ads by paying a monthly fee. Subscribers receive benefits such as additional voices for Qur’an and Adhan readings, as well as access to new color schemes. [12]

Muslim Pro relies on knowing the user’s geolocation data for most functions to work correctly. When a user opens the application, the service will ask for permission to access the device's GPS. According to the privacy policy of Muslim Pro, the application processes, stores, and analyzes data sent from the users using the application including personal details, location, and device-specific information [13].


World Influence

Bunt describes the positive ways in which the Muslim religion assisting apps to secure the future of the Islamic religion through modern channels. They comment on the ability to have the Qur'an available easily at any moment and its effect on keeping the religion relevant for the future. A strong point in their book is a specific example detailing how marginalized and minority Muslim persons have a stronger voice in any discussion interpreting their faith. They mention Twitter and the prevalence of use by religious leaders to reach a wider and more engaged audience through the platform[14].

Religious Apps

Muslim Pro falls into a category along with similar apps for many other religions which help users uphold their religious commitments[8], reports a study performed by Hughes. The research found the majority of users of any faith-related mobile application use the software as a way to stay connected to their faith even without a direct community to be a part of. Users also described how they do not have time to attend religious services and instead remain involved on their own time whenever possible. Hughes describes how the usage of religious apps is transforming religion from an institutionalized practice to everyday activity is keeping a younger generation engaged in practicing faith.

The research concludes with a statement describing how apps disrupt the traditional importance of communal faith while offering many benefits for any generation of faith. Like many other religions that are now using apps for religious purposes, this advancement can come with its own problems. Many people who have practiced this religion for a long time often believe that using apps for religious reasons can weaken one's personal connection with their religion. However, younger users, as usual, seem to be more open and optimistic about the advancement of apps in religion. Looking at one of the most widespread religions, Christians also have tons of apps to help grow and strengthen their faith. A few years back, people were asked to leave the church/cathedral if they were using their phones. They would usually have a strict rule against phones in a holy place. However, as of a few years now, phones are of often seen used in churches and cathedrals to take photos, read from the bible, whatever they need to do[15]. So, just as we see changes slowly beings accepted with electronic devices in holy places, so are digital apps for religious purposes is becoming more accepted.

Ethical Concerns

Screenshot of Muslim Pro asking for user Location [16]

Data Selling Controversy

Muslim pro became the subject of a privacy controversy due to allegations of sending information about their users to data brokers associated with the United States military.[7] In 2020, an expose by Vice Motherboard identified Muslim Pro as one of the many applications that have had their location data accessed by the United States military[17]. The article provides details concerning the U.S. Government purchasing of Muslim Pro user location data through X-mode, a data broker focused on location information, to assist counter-terrorism activities.

Another point of controversy lies in Muslim Pro not stating the true destination of user data in their privacy policy.[18] Representatives of the company, Bitsmedia, had an interview with Straits Times and they claimed that “they did not sell such data to the US military, but did not deny sharing its data with third-party data brokers.”[19] One of the third-party data brokers that Muslim Pro sold its data to is “called X-Mode, according to Motherboard's report.” According to Business Insider “X-Mode has sold location data to defense contractors, according to its website, which in turn provide the data to the US Department of Defense.” Also, the companies who keep track of location and people’s movement claim that the data is anonymized and that it can’t be tied to a person directly, “Some studies have shown, however, that it's easy to de-anonymize the location data and tie it back to individual people.”[20]

After the backlash from the users and activist groups, “We have decided to terminate our relationships with all data partners, including X-Mode, effective immediately,” Muslim Pro said.[21] However, only a couple of days later, Muslim Pro stated on its website that “ it collects, processes and uses information from users to improve its services and support further research and development for the app. This includes location data for features like calculating Muslim prayer times, which differ based on geographical location.”[19]

The problem with the privacy policy of Muslim Pro was that “Muslim Pro does not mention X-Mode in its privacy policy, and did not provide any sort of pop-up when installing or opening the app that explained the transfer of location data in detail.”[17] Also, when Strait Times questioned Mr. Nik Emir Din, Muslim Pro's head of business development and its country manager in Malaysia that whether users have the ability to opt-out of data collection, Mr. Nik said that “users are prompted to accept the app's terms and conditions and it's privacy policy when they start using the app. They would not be able to use the app if they declined these terms and conditions.”[19]


Islamic Apps

Muslim Pro exists among around 300 other Islam-centered religious apps on the Google Play Store.[22] Hameed states that a major issue regarding these apps is the lack of accessibility for users because proper categories do not exist in which to place these religious applications. They say that these missing identifiers make it difficult for users to properly discover and utilize these programs compared to other apps on mobile platforms.

The research also describes another issue related to the lack of verification present when developing and publishing apps containing Islamic content to the Play Store. They discovered 90% of users surveyed reported they did not know how to inspect the content they were reading to be sure it was authentic as well as finding that many Islamic apps provided false information. Hameed states that this can mislead users to spread false information and will require work in the future to construct a content review framework to ensure accurate information is portrayed to those who rely on the apps for worship.

References

  1. “Muslims Reel over a Prayer App That Sold User Data: 'A Betrayal from within Our Own Community'.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Nov. 2020, www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2020-11-23/muslim-pro-data-location-sales-military-contractors.
  2. Bitsmedia Pte. Ltd. “Thank you for the support” Muslim Pro, 2021, https://www.muslimpro.com/en.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Muslim Pro. “Muslim Pro's Features” Muslim Pro, 2021, https://www.muslimpro.com/features.
  4. Muslim Pro. “Muslim Pro's Features” Muslim Pro, 2021, https://www.muslimpro.com/features.
  5. Raj, Adeline Paul. “Tech: Growing the World's Most Popular Lifestyle App for Muslims.” The Edge Markets, 20 June 2018, www.theedgemarkets.com/article/tech-growing-worlds-most-popular-lifestyle-app-muslims.
  6. MediaBUZZ. “MUSLIM PRO IS NO 1. ISLAMIC MOBILE APP WITH OVER 10 MILLION DOWNLOADS GLOBALLY” MediaBuzz, April 2014, https://www.mediabuzz.com.sg/companies-campaigns-april-14/muslim-pro-is-no-1-islamic-mobile-app-with-over-10-million-downloads-globally.
  7. 7.0 7.1 “ACLU Files Request over Data US Collected via Muslim App Used by Millions.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 3 Dec. 2020, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/dec/03/aclu-seeks-release-records-data-us-collected-via-muslim-app-used-millions.
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 Rinker, C. H. (2016). Religious Apps for Smartphones and Tablets: Transforming Religious Authority and the Nature of Religion. Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion, 12(4). Retrieved from https://www.religjournal.com/pdf/ijrr12004.pdf
  9. Five most innovative Islamic apps of 2018. (2018, Jun 26). Daily Times Retrieved from https://proxy.lib.umich.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/newspapers/five-most-innovative-islamic-apps-2018/docview/2058841830/se-2?accountid=14667
  10. Baharudin, Hariz. “S'pore-Based Muslim Pro App Developers Say No Data Sold to US Military; PDPC Investigating.” The Straits Times, 20 Nov. 2020, www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-based-muslim-pro-app-developers-not-aware-of-data-being-sold-to-us-military-pdpc.
  11. Pro, Muslim. Big 10 for Muslim Pro - 10 Million Global Downloads for Mobile App, 30 June 2018, www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/big-10-for-muslim-pro---10-million-global-downloads-for-mobile-app-255471731.html#:~:text=Muslim%20Pro%20is%20an%20Islamic,and%20BlackBerry%20World%20(BlackBerry).
  12. 12.0 12.1 “Muslim Pro for iPhone and Android.” Www.muslimpro.com, www.muslimpro.com/features.
  13. Pro, Muslim. “Privacy Policy.” Muslim Pro - Help Center, 25 Mar. 2021, support.muslimpro.com/hc/en-us/articles/203485970-Privacy-Policy.
  14. Bunt, G.R. (2018). Hashtag Islam: How Cyber-Islamic Environments Are Transforming Religious Authority. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. Retrieved from https://muse-jhu-edu.proxy.lib.umich.edu/book/61421
  15. Stokel-Walker, Chris. (22 Feb. 2017). How smartphones and social media are changing Christianity. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170222-how-smartphones-and-social-media-are-changing-religion
  16. Ali Baker. Muslim Pro Location Screenshot. Mar 11 2020
  17. 17.0 17.1 “How the U.S. Military Buys Location Data from Ordinary Apps.” VICE, www.vice.com/en/article/jgqm5x/us-military-location-data-xmode-locate-x.
  18. “Muslims Reel over a Prayer App That Sold User Data: 'A Betrayal from within Our Own Community'.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Nov. 2020, www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2020-11-23/muslim-pro-data-location-sales-military-contractors.
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 Baharudin, Hariz. “S'pore-Based Muslim Pro App Developers Say No Data Sold to US Military; PDPC Investigating.” The Straits Times, 20 Nov. 2020, www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-based-muslim-pro-app-developers-not-aware-of-data-being-sold-to-us-military-pdpc.
  20. Holmes, Aaron. “The US Military Reportedly Bought Location Data Mined from a Popular Muslim Prayer App to Track Users for 'Counterterrorism'.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 16 Nov. 2020, www.businessinsider.com/us-military-location-data-muslim-prayer-app-xmode-babel-street-2020-11.
  21. Al Jazeera. “'Untrue': Muslim Pro App Denies Selling User Data to US Military.” Privacy News | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 18 Nov. 2020, www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/18/muslim-pro-app-denies-selling-user-data-to-us-military.
  22. Hameed, A. (2019). The survey, Analysis, and Issues of Islamic Android Apps. Elkawnie Journal of Islamic Science and Technology, 5(1). Retrieved from https://jurnal.ar-raniry.ac.id/index.php/elkawnie/article/view/4541/pdf