Richard Lee Can Still Obtain New Convert Certificate
The revocation of Richard Lee’s convert certificate by Hanny Kristianto has become a topic of widespread discussion. However, Mualaf Center Indonesia (MCI) emphasises that the withdrawal of this document does not annul Richard Lee’s Islamic status.
MCI General Chairman Fandy W. Gunawan stated that a convert’s status under Islamic sharia is determined by the shahada declaration, not by certificates or administrative documents.
“This revocation does not mean—let it be underlined—that the conversion is invalidated, no. His entry into Islam remains valid as per Dr. Richard Lee,” Fandy W. Gunawan stressed when met in the Pasar Minggu area, South Jakarta, yesterday.
Fandy explained that the convert certificate essentially serves to facilitate legality and administrative needs in Indonesia. The document is typically used for marriage arrangements at the KUA (Office of Religious Affairs) to changes in population data.
The revocation of Richard Lee’s certificate was reportedly due to administrative reasons, one of which relates to the religious status on his ID card that has not yet been updated.
According to Fandy, the impact of the certificate’s revocation is primarily on administrative obstacles. Without an official document, a convert may face difficulties in processing identity data changes or other state documents.
“This certificate revocation will have a slight impact, namely when he wants to change his administrative status, he must remake the certificate or a statement letter of conversion to Islam. So if we talk about it, it’s slightly hindered administratively,” Fandy clarified.
No Blacklist Among Foundations
Fandy also emphasised that there is no such thing as a blacklist among convert foundations. According to him, the revocation of a certificate by one institution does not automatically lead to rejection by others.
He stated that converts whose certificates have been revoked can still apply for new document issuance at other foundations as long as their shahada process can be accounted for.
“DRL does not mean that once revoked from one foundation, they are banned by all of them. It’s not like that, because this might involve personal assessments from Mr. Hanny or the foundation he leads. For other foundations, it’s possible,” he asserted.