Ethics: Guest Preacher Calls Muslims “Towelheads”

MM,

Perhaps my observation goes too far. Bennett's comment about the past and using the name "Butch" just reminded me the name issue. I was reminded of the research here: http://turretinfan.blogspot.com/2010/05/ergun-caners-middle-name-is-what.html

But I get your point.

Mark,

I obviously am no defender of Ergun, but his use of Mehmet is defensible. One, I have several immigrant friends and they generally have anglicized names or multiple names. Two, his father, Acar Mehmet Caner, died in 1999. He took the middle name to honor his father. 9/11 happened a couple of years later.

Now I will be the first to point out that he said some horrible things about his father, but I have no reason to doubt his taking of his father's middle name.

Bennett, it's sad that some of us think the time on the original EC discussion was wasted. I recently had a face to face talk with a Caner supporter. He truly believed that Caner's words were simply exaggeration that got away from him. That is my description of what he said to me. I have no idea how anyone can believe that Caner's misrepresentations were not intentional.

An interesting coincidence is that EC seemed to begin using his Muslim name right after 9/11. But why not prior to that incident?

I clicked on Tim Rogers name/link (above) and got what is apparently a long list of tweets. There in the middle was one from Ergun. I thought that was interesting. Group loyalty vs truth loyalty is an interesting competition. I wasted way too much time in the original discussion about EC and came away disgusted with a few people who pretended that facts don't exist.

There are several people around who have chosen to ignore the egg on their face rather than wash. I still wonder who was the first that Butch tried out his new identity on. It must have gone well.

It's a silly challenge. Everyone knows that Ergun says "towelhead" from time to time. I have more examples.

Looks like Tim has gone away. I was hoping for more information. You would think that he would check back here from time to time since he had put up a challenge.

Tim,

Here are the other two.

2005-2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9k_YYW60IE

2010-2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAwYsZq2STo

Les,

Caner apologize? Thanks for the chuckle.

Mark,

Hard to say. I don't think I'd walk out, though I would certainly apologize to my friend and try to talk with the pastor later. If this sort of thing was at all persistent in the sermon, I'd be much more likely to leave.

OK Tim, this is my first attempt. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szz2RKAZC3g

I suppose that Tim might be technically correct that Caner didn't use the slur in a direct way as he spoke in the video. i.e. not in a sermon. I suppose too that your statement about having Caner as a guest preacher was a bit of projection on Caner, based on the tweets.

But, and I didn't know this until you pointed it out, Caner referring to Muslims as "towel heads" in tweets would be a distinction without a difference. That looks to me like a direct slur if I ever saw one. Has he apologized for those tweets?

Tim -- you mean like here? http://mosesmodel.blogspot.com/2013/01/ergun-caner-calls-people-towelhead.html

This is a hard one...what would one do? Maybe we can learn, as preachers, to use our words in a meaningful way. Peter, I am not sure what particular quote from Ergun you might have been refering to if any, but I had to chuckle when I scrolled pass your response. I actually thought of his name in reading the article, not that I have heard him say that particular remark at all. Just a little irony there I guess.

Give me a day or two and I can have several examples put together in a video. Until then, I have this one, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=antG-2eMwjc

Peter, It it time to put up or shut up. Point me to a sermon where Ergun Caner has used such a term.

I'd apologize for having Ergun Caner as a guest pastor....

Wow! What a slur. What kind of preacher would do that? He really should look for another vocation. I would go with "Apologize and tell him you all are leaving now." Then I'd get up and walk out with the Muslim friend. Then, go to the pastor and urge him to never have that preacher back.

Clarification, is the guest preacher a real former Muslim or a pretend one? :-)

A combination of choice two and three. The preacher made a racist statement, pure and simple. I would not stand for it. I would leave. I would also take my friend with me and take him to lunch and talk to him. I would also write a weighty letter to my pastor and object in the strongest but most loving language possible that there is no way a guy like this should occupy the pulpit. While I am as filthy as sinner as he is, as an elder he is called to a higher standard. He should not be in the pulpit and he should be barred from it for that comment.

I'd have some words with the guest preacher afterwards, you'd better believe that.