Caner Ousted as Dean

Liberty University demoted Ergun Caner, the first former Muslim to become dean of a seminary, after investigating claims that he made about his religious background.

In a statement issued Friday, the Lynchburg, Va.-based university said the investigative committee concluded that Caner made “factual statements that are self-contradictory.” Caner will no longer be dean of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary as of June 30, when his contract expires, but will stay on as a professor for the 2010-2011 academic year.

“[T]he committee found no evidence to suggest that Dr. Caner was not a Muslim who converted to Christianity as a teenager, but, instead, found discrepancies related to matters such as dates, names and places of residence,” the statement read.

Caner, who rose to prominence after the 9/11 terrorist attacks as an expert on Islam, was accused by bloggers for months of embellishing parts of his Muslim background. Among the details under question was how devout his Muslim family really was, where he was raised, when he converted, and how much of an expert he is on the Quran.