The Alter Net website reports that Ergun Caner, president and dean of the theological seminary at Liberty University, was stripped of his leadership positions at the conservative Christian school in Lynchburg, Virginia, founded by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell.
Caner -- a Baptist clergyman of Turkish descent -- claimed for years to have been a fervent jihadist until Jesus changed his heart. He said he was raised in Turkey, and did not speak English until he was a teenager.
In May 2010, Alter Net reported that Caner had lied about his past, in order to exploit popular sentiment after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
Several Christian and Muslim bloggers -- as well as others -- noted serious discrepancies with known facts about his life story. It turns out he did not grow up in Turkey, but in Ohio. Also, his stories about struggling to learn English after coming to the U.S. as a teenager were not true.
Jerry Falwell, Jr., Chancellor of Liberty University, initiated a formal inquiry as a result of the media articles on Caner, and this resulted in Caner's removal as president and dean.
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