Topic: WorldNetDaily
Richard Bartholomew has detailed how questions being raised about the background of Liberty University president Ergun Caner, who has claimed that he was "raised as a devout Sunni Muslim" and, reportedly, that that his first language was Arabic and he was trained in a madrassa in Turkey. It turns out that, apparently, Caner actually arrived in the U.S. at age 4, and custody of him was split between his Muslim father and Swedish mother, raising questions about just how "devout" he was.
It should come as no surprise that -- not unlike Walid Shoebat, a converted Christian whose tales of a previous life as a Palestinian terrorist have been similarly challenged -- Caner's story has been promoted at WorldNetDaily, mostly through columns by Liberty University founder Jerry Falwell and his son, Jonathan.
a February 2005 column by Jerry Falwell announcing Caner's appointment as dean of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary highlighted how Caner is "a converted Sunni Muslim and son of an ulema (Muslim scholar)" and that he "immigrated with his family to America to build mosques in the Midwest." In an October 2008 column, Jonathan Falwell asserted that "Dr. Caner is a man who has felt the rejection of his family and been the target of ridicule and derision because of his faith in Christ."
Caner has also written op-eds for WND, one of which declared that President Bush "is our Lincoln" because he "has freed our people from oppression, slavery and injustice."
Further, a November 2006 WND article uncritically described Caner as "a Turkish immigrant who was raised as a devout Sunni Muslim."
WND has yet to tell its readers about the questions regarding Shoebat's background. Don't expect WND to tell its readers about Caner, either.
