BBC World Service, Heart and Soul, Verses for Women: Egypt’s Quran Reciters, 4 Jul 2025
“Salma El-Wardany meets young women in Egypt using their voices to amplify their faith – drawing inspiration from the long tradition of female Quran reciters in the country. Following in the footsteps of pioneering women like Sheikha Munira Abdou who was first heard on Egyptian Radio 100 years ago and the renowned singer Umm Kulthum, more Egyptian women are sharing their recitations of the Quran publicly. They’re stepping out of the shadows of a fatwa that denounced women’s voices as awrah (to be covered or not heard) which led to a ban of public recitation on the radio in the 1940s. The ban lasted years but the tradition is being restored thanks to a new generation, with women boldly reciting and chanting about the Prophet Mohammed on social media.”
I write about this issue (briefly) in ‘Islamic Algorithms‘. The programme is very insightful, although it doesn’t mention some of the reciters and apps available, such as Qariah‘s content:
The programme assesses online influence/impact in relation to the reciters‘ profiles and audience growth. Examples include Aya Mahmoud and Horeya Boraey, particularly on Instagram and TikTok, where content includes recitation and chants. Examples below:
