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.
[5] 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.
[9] 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.
[citation needed] 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.
[11] 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.
[12][15] 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.
[7] 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.
[11] Paperback editions of the book included a foreword by Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.
[17] 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".
[11] In the years following the publication of Unveiling Islam, Caner became a well-known and popular speaker at evangelical schools and churches.
In September 2002, The Dallas Morning News reported that both Caner brothers were "booked [as speakers] nearly every weekend all over the country for the next few years".
[24] In conjunction with Child Evangelism Fellowship, Caner led the creation of a Master of Arts degree in Children's Ministry.
[26] David Neff, a member of the committee that drafted the manifesto, said the inclusion of Caner's name was an oversight and was corrected when he objected.
"[34] The committee reported "discrepancies related to the matters such as dates, names and places of residence" in Caner's public statements, although they found no evidence to contradict the idea that he was a Muslim who converted to Christianity as a teenager.
[38] Caner left LU in June 2011 to become Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs for the Arlington Baptist College.
[citation needed] Caner filed a lawsuit on June 18, 2013, in the U.S. district court in North Texas claiming copyright infringement for reproducing, uploading and maintaining his videos without permission.