Ergun Caner

Ergun Michael Caner (born November 3, 1966) is a Swedish-American academic, author, and Baptist minister, who became well known for his book, co-authored with his brother, on Islam and his claims that he was a devout Muslim trained as a terrorist.

Caner was born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1966 to Acar, a Turkish national, and Monica, a Swede.

He was the oldest of three brothers.

Caner immigrated to the United States in 1969 with his parents, moving to Ohio.

His parents divorced on April 14, 1978, but his father, through court order, initially established that the boys be raised in Islam.

Caner's mother Monica successfully fought against the provision in the divorce decree that the children be raised Muslim by making an appeal to the court on February 6, 1979.

The court allowed Monica's petition that religious instruction be "according to the desires of each parent" while in their custody.

Caner continues to contradict these facts in many of his lecture videos by providing conflicting statements.

Caner was the first of his siblings to profess Christianity, doing so at age 15 after accepting a friend's invitation to a revival meeting at a local Baptist church.

Within 18 months, both of Caner's brothers baptised into the church.

He emigrated to the United States at age four and claimed to have converted to Protestantism in the early 1980s.

Caner is the former President of Brewton-Parker College in Mount Vernon, Georgia.

He previously served as the Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Arlington Baptist College and was the former dean of the Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and Graduate School of Liberty University.

He was removed from this position after it became clear to Liberty University faculty and the Liberty University Board that he misrepresented his background.

In 1989, Ergun earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biblical Studies and Languages at Cumberland College (now the University of the Cumberlands), a Baptist college in Williamsburg, Kentucky.

After graduation, he and Emir enrolled at Criswell College in Dallas, Texas, where they first met Criswell president Paige Patterson, who they later described as a surrogate father.

Ergun Caner became Patterson's assistant while pursuing a Master of Arts in History.

In late 1991, Patterson left Criswell under pressure from the school's board of trustees and became president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

Ergun completed his master's degree in 1992, and both Ergun and Emir followed Patterson to Southeastern.

There, Caner earned two additional graduate degrees – a Master of Divinity in 1994 and a Master of Theology in 1995.

Caner's father disowned all three sons following their conversions, and he did not see them again until 1999, when a stepsister they had never met called to tell them he was dying with cancer.

Caner, then pastoring a church in Denver, Colorado, traveled to his father's home days before he died and introduced him to his wife and son, Braxton.

Caner and his brother Emir became active in Christian ministry.

In 2000, he obtained a Doctor of Theology degree at the University of South Africa.

After graduation, he returned to Criswell College as a professor of Theology and Church History.

Patterson urged Caner and his brother to write a book about Islam, citing the need for Christians to understand the Muslim religion in order to convert its followers to Christianity.

Caner said the importance of writing the book was impressed upon him following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

The book, Unveiling Islam: An Insider's Look at Muslim Life and Beliefs, was published in March 2002.

Paperback editions of the book included a foreword by Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

The book was a commercial success, selling 100,000 copies in its first year of publication.

In June 2002, the Caners received national attention for Unveiling Islam after Jerry Vines referred to the Muslim prophet Muhammad as a "demon-possessed pedophile", citing the book as evidence, in a sermon at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in St. Louis, Missouri.

In the aftermath of these remarks, Muslim leaders labeled Caner and his brother as kafirs or "infidels".

It also received a 2003 Gold Medallion Book award by the Evangelical Christian Publisher's Association.

The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association awarded it the Gold Medallion for a missions/evangelism book in 2003.

A review in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram described Unveiling Islam as "a sketch of religious history, theology and life" and "a handy, brief guide to what is often an unknown world".

The reviewer further noted that the book was "strongly evangelistic" and "emphasizes the faith's militant aspect".

IslamOnline's Ali Asadullah called Unveiling Islam "a diatribe against Muslims and their faith."

On January 20, 2015, Brewton-Parker College announced that Dr. Caner was stepping down due to the inability to properly grieve for his deceased son, Braxton, who had committed suicide on July 29, 2014.

He has authored and co-authored several books, many of which discuss Islam and Christianity.

His book, Unveiling Islam, co-authored with his brother Emir, sold more than 200,000 copies and has been translated into six languages.