by Omar Sacirbey
Liberty University is expected to release a report next week on whether
Ergun Caner, president of the school's Baptist Theological Seminary,
fabricated or exaggerated his account of being a former Muslim extremist
rescued by Jesus.
Caner is no ordinary ex-Muslim. His story has made him a favorite in
conservative Christian circles, and many credit the charismatic preacher
with helping boost enrollment at the school founded by the late Jerry
Falwell.
At the same time, some critics say Caner is just the latest charlatan in a
line of supposedly ex-Muslim terrorists who have found an audience among
Christian fundamentalists seeking to attack Islam.
Most worrisome, the critics say, is that the self-styled former terrorists
have been welcomed as experts on Islam and terrorism by religious
institutions, universities, media outlets, members of Congress and even the
military. . . .
Other avowed terrorists-turned-Christians have drawn scrutiny as well,
including U.S. citizens Walid Shoebat, author of "Why We Want To Kill You,"
and Kamal Saleem, who has worked for Focus on the Family and recently wrote
"The Blood of Lambs." Like Caner's book, their books purport to be insider
explorations of radical Islam. . . .
"These guys are spewing Islamophobic hatred, and the Pentagon laps it up.
This is the kind of prejudice and bigotry that can lead to genocide,"
Weinstein said.
FULL TEXT
Bob Smietana, "Southern Baptist's
ex-Muslim narratives in dispute," tennessean.com, May 18, 2010
fakeexmuslims.com