Was he or wasn’t he a Muslim?

The president of a Baptist seminary is under fire for discrepancies in his biographical information, including his Muslim background.

Baptist blogger Wade Burleson called attention Wednesday (April 14) to the dispute over Ergun Caner’s bio, citing posts in other blogs, especially FBC Jax Watchdog, who has called for Caner to resign as president of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.

On Monday (April 12), Burleson wondered why Southern Baptist leaders were quiet about Caner’s troubles and also wrote about the issue in a post about the need to question leadership.

Caner and his brother, Emir, have close ties to Paige Patterson, former SBC president and now president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Caner previously apologized for calling the head of the International Mission Board a liar.

Jason Smathers says Caner is a “real ex-Muslim” in a post on the SBC Voices blog, but still calls on Caner to explain contradictions in his testimony, speeches and biography.

Matt Svovoda sums up the Caner situation in a separate post on the SBC Voices blog, listing several specific areas of concern.

The Watchdog doesn’t think much of Caner’s contention in February that he “never intentionally misled anyone.” The statement Caner released then can be found on the SBC Today web site, but the link that web site uses to the original statement is broken.

Clearly, a full explanation of the Caner discrepancies is needed.