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Hajj pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam. In order to perform hajj, one needs a special hajj visa. There seems to be an extra requirement for converts to Islam:

If the applicant has converted to Islam, an Islamic certificate must be presented; this needs to be notarized by an Islamic Center. -- Mecca.net

I found the following image from the London Central Mosque Trust & The Islamic Cultural Centre:

Sample Islamic certificate

There seems to be a lot on there, and judging from the range of photos online, there's no worldwide standard.

Question: What are the necessary contents of an "Islamic certificate" required for a convert to perform Hajj pilgrimage?

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    I think it's better to ask on Islam SE.
    – Neusser
    Commented Mar 16, 2018 at 7:27
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    I discussed this at Islam.SE, one of the diamond moderators said: "While probably still on-topic here, this might get a better answer at travel.SE." Commented Mar 16, 2018 at 7:28
  • Ah, ok. Quite strange though.
    – Neusser
    Commented Mar 16, 2018 at 7:30
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    That certificate has a couple of grammatical errors: Most notably the "her" gender mistake ("sincerity is deeply rooted in her desire") and the lack of capital i ("i bear witness"). While it could be legit, it may not necessarily be a good example of what is acceptable for a visa.
    – stanri
    Commented Mar 16, 2018 at 7:49

1 Answer 1

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There are simple requirements to convert to Islam; you simply have to say the Shahada (the below is the Sunni version, which is the one usually quoted):

لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا ٱلله مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ ٱلله
lā ʾilāha ʾillā llāh muḥammadun rasūlu llāh
IPA: [laː ʔɪˈlaːha ˈʔɪl.lɑɫˈɫɑː mʊħamˈmadʊn raˈsuːlʊlˈɫɑː]
There is no god but God. Muhammad is the messenger of God.

Then confirm and declare yourself Muslim and follow the tenants of Islam.

The process does not require any witnesses, you can one day - sitting at home, decide to become Muslim, say the Shahada and follow the tenets of Islam.

Practically, however, such undertaking is done after consultation with an elder or Islamic religious scholar, usually done in front of witnesses (i.e. declared in public - but again, its not a requirement). Most often it is done after the weekly Friday prayers; however again there is no such strict requirement.

Since the process is so simple - for the purposes of admission to the Holy Cities, a certificate is required if you are convert and not born a Muslim. This certificate simply notes down the details of the date, time, the particulars of the witnesses and the certificate is usually signed by the Islamic Center (usually, the prominent Mosque in the area) administration; most often by the director or the designated Imam of the Mosque.

There are no hard and fast requirements, but the certificate serves as "proof" (for legal purposes) that you have converted to Islam.

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    How would they know who was born a Muslim and who had converted (and therefore who needs a certificate)?
    – user16259
    Commented Mar 16, 2018 at 8:13
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    'tenets', not 'tenants'
    – AakashM
    Commented Mar 16, 2018 at 9:45
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    "Allah" is an English transliteration of the Arabic word for God, so it seems the translation is correct; however you are free to amend the Wikipedia entry if you feel its not accurate. Commented Mar 16, 2018 at 10:46

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