“Folks, I think it’s a miracle,” the host said. “No one can delete the Quran from this planet anymore because of what these guys have done.”
It was a bold claim but not an exaggeration. Thanks to the vision and persistence of Muhammad Abdul-Aleem, founder of the global online hub IslamiCity, the Quran now exists in a form that makes it virtually impossible to erase. Unless the entire internet disappears, the sacred text will remain accessible to anyone, anywhere.
This year marks three decades of IslamiCity, an anniversary that tells a story of vision, faith, and technological foresight.
From Humanitarian Aid to Lasting Impact
Abdul-Aleem’s background wasn’t in religious scholarship; it was in Management Information Systems, with years in the nuclear and aerospace industries. But the Gulf War of 1991 became a turning point. At the time, he and his friends held weekly Quran study circles led by his mother, focusing on verses that called for action. Watching the war’s devastation unfold live on television inspired them to act.
They launched a humanitarian mission under Human Assistance & Development International (HADI), delivering $250,000 worth of food and medicine to Iraq. The initiative, called Operation Assistance for Lamenting Mothers (ALM), served Shia, Sunni, Christian, and other communities without discrimination.
While the relief work was meaningful, Abdul-Aleem realized its limits. “It was a drop in the bucket,” he recalled. They wanted something that would create lasting change.
The Quran Can Never Be Deleted: The Vision Behind IslamiCity’s 30-Year Legacy | Episode 10
Building a Digital Future
In the early 1990s, during the Balkan Wars, the group turned to technology-based solutions. They established computer training centers in Croatia, Albania, and Bosnia that still operate today. By 1993, before the internet was widely accessible, they experimented with bulletin board systems (BBS) to share Islamic resources online.
The real breakthrough came in 1994 when web browsers emerged, allowing text, audio, and video to be accessed in one place. The team acted quickly, securing valuable domain names such as islam.org and allah.org. They envisioned not just a database, but a digital city, a place where Muslims and non-Muslims alike could learn, engage, and connect.
That vision became IslamiCity.
The First Quran Online
By the late 1990s, IslamiCity had grown into one of the most visited Islamic websites in the world, attracting millions of visitors annually. Their flagship achievement was groundbreaking: hosting the entire Quran online in both text and audio form.
“We were the first organization to do that,” Abdul-Aleem said. The Quran was no longer confined to printed copies or local libraries. It became a permanent fixture of the digital world.
A Lifelong Mission
In 2000, Abdul-Aleem and co-founder Amr took what they thought would be a short break from their careers to focus on IslamiCity full-time. That “sabbatical” has now lasted 25 years. Under HADI’s nonprofit umbrella, they built tools like Quran and Hadith search engines, educational resources, and cultural archives all aimed at democratizing Islamic knowledge.
Running a nonprofit in the educational space wasn’t easy. There was no manual, no guaranteed roadmap. Abdul-Aleem credits persistence, patience, and faith as the guiding forces.
“Commit to doing good,” he advises. “The path will reveal itself.”
Preserving Sacred Knowledge
Today, IslamiCity stands as proof that technology, when guided by vision and integrity, can safeguard sacred knowledge for generations. The Quran is now mirrored across countless servers and devices, making it virtually indestructible in the digital age.
Thirty years on, what began as a grassroots project has become a global legacy. And for many, that feels nothing short of miraculous.
Source: IslamiCity
Interview: The Quran Can Never Be Deleted: The Vision Behind IslamiCity’s 30-Year Legacy | Episode 10
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