Digitalization of holy Quran (Quranic applications): challenges and concerns. Special reference with 4th year students of South Eastern University of Sri Lanka

Abstract

Quran is the sacred, the most authentic, and unchanged book of the God since its revelation over 14 centuries. People usually read Quran using the traditional printed version on paperback format called Mushaf. Which is the verbatim word of Allah. The recent advent of smart technologies like smart phones, digital devices and tablets has collected the daily life routines under a single touch and most of the Muslims are adopting these new tools with an exponential growth. The growth of online digital multimedia content has enabled the rapid digitization of printed manuscripts, resulting in faster and more effective dissemination of digital publications. In this paper, we highlight the challenges and concerns that Muslim community has relevant to the digitization of the Holy Quran. A survey was conducted to explore the trends and adoption of technology using digital and smart devices for reading And learning Quran in the Muslim community. In addition, it was also endeavored to identify that how Muslims feel important or mandatory to have an Islamic body to monitor and endorse the digital versions and copies of the Holy Quran available in the digital format in the market. The paper is supported by a survey results and analysis extracted from 12 questions and 36 responses, five interviews and three discussions from different faculty students of South Eastern University of Sri Lanka.