Jamal Jivanjee's Memory

According to Jamal Jivanjee's current biography (as of May 10, 2010):

Growing up in the Columbus Ohio area, Jamal Jivanjee was raised by a devout Shiite Muslim father ... and a very conservative Catholic mother ... . Jamal's quest for the truth led him out of Islam and Catholicism, and down some perilous roads, but eventually to Christ as a young adult. Jamal went on to become a graduate of Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA where he studied Pastoral ministry.

(source)

Keep in mind that Dr. Ergun Caner claims to have been raised by a devout Sunni Muslim father. Also, keep in mind that Mr. Jivanjee claims regarding the Caner family:

My father was a devout Muslim and we attended functions at the same mosque/ masjid that Ergun, Emir, & his family attended on east Broad street in Columbus, Ohio. Ergun & Emir’s father, Mr. Acar Caner, was a very prominent leader within the Islamic community that we associated with and was very involved with this mosque. As a result, I remember as a young child going to their home with my family to have dinner with their family.

It would be interesting to know what approximate year Mr. Jivanjee remembers visiting the Acar house. From what I could find on the Internet, Mr. Jivanjee is about 35 years old, meaning he was born about 1975. As such, in November of 1982 (the date Caner indicates as his conversion), Mr. Jivanjee would have been about 7 years old.

I don't doubt that everything that Mr. Jivanjee said is true. The fact that his father was Shiite and Acar Caner was Sunni is not as significant as one might think, given that in the late 70's and early 80's there were not huge numbers of Muslims in central Ohio.

Notice that Mr. Jivanjee doesn't say he or his family regularly attended or worshiped at the Broad St. Islamic Foundation, but just that they "attended functions" there (although, again, perhaps there as no Shiite mosque in the area at the time). Notice as well that Mr. Jivanjee does not claim to have personally known Ergun and Emir, but just to have dined once with Mr. Acar Caner and "his family" (which may well have referred to Mr. Caner's second wife and daughters).

Some of Dr. Caner's fans seem to think that Mr. Jivanjee's comments above prove that Dr. Caner was not just from a Muslim family but a devout Muslim, and that this evidence exonerates Dr. Caner from all the accusations of dishonesty that have been swirling around him. The problems are (1) that's not what Mr. Jivanjee says and (2) it doesn't appear that Mr. Jivanjee, being only about 7 years old and in a different branch of Islam at the time Dr. Caner apparently converted, would have been in a position to know whether Dr. Caner was a devout Muslim.

I trust that Jamal Jivanjee will continue to speak the truth about his knowledge, and particularly the limits of his knowledge. While it would be great to be able to vindicate Dr. Caner's claim to have been a "devout Muslim" (and he may have been a devout Muslim, I am not claiming otherwise), Mr. Jivanjee's testimony is probably not going to be enough (as it stands) to silence the critics.

- TurretinFan

Jamal Jivanjee's Testimony Regarding Ergun Caner

Jamal Jivanjee is, like Ergun Caner, a real ex-Muslim. He has testified to the fact that he went to the same Muslim "mosque/ masjid" as the Caner family (link to testimony). Some of those supporting Ergun Caner have viewed this as complete vindication of Dr. Caner. There are a couple reasons why it is still incomplete.

a) Mr. Jivanjee has not identified what years (even approximately) it was that he witnessed the Caner family at the "mosque/ masjid." This is not significant to the question of whether the Caner family was Muslim, but it is significant to the question of how devout they were.

b) Mr. Jivanjee has not testified as to whether Ergun and/or Emir were devout when he knew the family. Indeed, his testimony suggests that he may not be able to say, since he may have known them only slightly (he remembers as a young child eating dinner with his family at the Caner house) and/or he may have been too young to remember that kind of information.

Those items are what we would like to see from Mr. Jivanjee. I had previously asked Mr. Jivanjee if he knew Caner when Caner was a Muslim (link to my question). Mr. Jivanjee has not responded to my request. I have also asked the author of the blog that has reported Mr. Jivanjee's comment to see if he can elicit any additional facts to help support the points above. The information above would help to provide evidence against the Muslim critics who have been alleging that Dr. Caner was never a real Muslim.

However, it should be noted that the Christian critics of Dr. Caner have not been arguing that Dr. Caner was never a Muslim. Instead, the Christian criticism has focused on a variety of autobiographical embellishments, from claiming to debate people he never debated, to claiming to be born in places he wasn't born, and to have lived in places he hasn't lived. None of those issues are addressed at all by Mr. Jivanjee's comments. Thus, I think Mr. Guthrie is too optimistic when he writes: "Liars? No"

-TurretinFan