Bloggers Target Seminary President
"The American church has created an atmosphere in which our itching ears are looking for anyone who can expose Islam at its worst," Oksnevad says. "There can be a lot of church pressure on ex-Muslims to talk very negatively."
On April 15, a reworked brief biography of Caner appeared on Liberty's website. While it still says he was "raised as a devout Sunni Muslim," an earlier statement that he had been "raised as the son of a Muslim leader in Turkey" has been deleted. Also gone is the remark that "Caner has debated Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, and other religious leaders in 13 countries and 35 states."
Although bloggers say they aren't interested in forcing Caner out of his job, Clyatt notes that some bloggers are working on resolutions for the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting in June that would call on churches to sever ties with Liberty if no action is taken against Caner. But in recent years, the SBC Committee on Resolutions has ruled as out of order nearly all efforts against individuals.
"We don't see any way that bloggers will damage Liberty," Towns says.
Editor's Note: This article has been revised to correct Mohammad Khan's comments, which concern the content of Ergun Caner's video comments, not Caner's pronunciation of Arabic.
John W. Kennedy is a CT contributing editor based in Springfield, Missouri.
Copyright © 2010 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere:
Christianity Today's previous articles on or related to Islam include:
Out of Context | Debate over 'Camel method' probes limits of Muslim-focused evangelism. (March 23, 2010)
Should Christians Fast During Ramadan With Muslims? | Church leaders and observers weigh in on a current debate. (October 26, 2009)
What's in a Name? | Christians in Southeast Asia debate their right to refer to God as Allah. (July 28, 2009)
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Robert Brenner
R. Fisher - White and others have not scrounged through Caner's life- all this is based on his PUBLIC statements. As a result it's difficult to accuse anyone of misrepresenting what Caner has said, as it has been Caner himself saying it. Again, Caner's own statements raise the issue of his expertise in, and/or level of devotion ot, his former faith. He has made fundamental errors describing basic tenants of the Muslim faith in his PUBLIC addressed on the topic. In addition, the book Unveiling Islam contains essentially incorrect references to the primary Islamic sources. White and others are guilty of nothing other than bringing PUBLIC scrutiny to discrepancies/errors/falsehoods in PUBLIC material that have been previously overlooked for whatever reason.
Fredericka L.
"Amazing that the power of the internet and blogs can allow a 22-year old nobody to discredit such a good man. . ." Isn't it! The day and age when people can reinvent themselves the way Ergun Caner did after 9/11 is over; there's too much information out there. I'm a new-comer to this controversy, which evidently has been simmering on the internet for some time, but there's no doubt in my mind the bloggers have him dead to rights; just study the evidence. On one of the files I downloaded, he's even rolling his r's; a man who was brought to this country as little more than a toddler 'discovered' a foreign accent post-9/11! By the way it is uncharitable to call someone a 'nobody;' why does Christian charity begin and end with Ergun Caner?
Robert Fisher
Mr. Brenner, you are confusing categories. Just because Mr. White refutes *theological* errors does not obligate him to scrounge through another person's life in search of alleged ethical misconduct. And if that is his aim, why does he focus solely on Caner? And why does he not cease at raising questions but repeatedly assert that Caner was not devout or knowledgable about Islam? If he only did this once, we might chalk it up to enthusiasm or a slip of the tongue, but given his record it's starting to look like a consistent pattern of slander and misrepresentation on his part. I'm starting to think that he should be reported to his elders at prbc.org so they can evaluate whether he is guilty of misconduct. He is such a big fan of belonging to a local church so as to be accountable to elders, even to the point of asking others who their elders are so he can report them. Why should he get a free pass on being able to engage in this sort of misconduct?