Apps containing “extremist” books, available through Google Play and the App Store, have been banned in Russia. Access to them has been blocked as of May 20.
The District Attorney Office in Russia’s Stavropol region requested to ban access to these apps because they allegedly contain extremist materials. A local district court in Stavropol supported the claims and ruled to ban the apps. Russia’s media watchdog Roskomnadzor, which administers the registry of forbidden websites, says they have received the Stavropol court’s request to block the apps.
According to Russian newspaper Izvestia, the ban concerns two books by Sa’id Wahf Al-Qahtani, available through the App Store and through Google Play: Fortress of the Muslim: Invocations from the Quran and Sunnah and Fortress of the Muslim: addressing Allah through prayer. Healing through spells in the Quran and Sunnah.
The District Attorney Office notes that both of the books are included in the Federal registry of extremist materials, overseen by the Ministry of Justice. “Yet access to the materials has not been limited until now,” said a District Attorney representative. The apps containing texts from the books can be found through the App Store and through Google Play.
On another occasion, Roskomnadzor contacted Google Play, requesting that they limit access to the app featuring Adolph Hitler’s Mein Kampf, which is considered extremist in Russia. Google Play deleted the app.