Recent statements by Southern Baptist Convention leaders have brought renewed attention to the religious beliefs of Islam and, specifically, the life of Muhammad, it's founder.

National media have widely reported that Jerry Vines, pastor of First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Fla., described Muhammad as a "demon-possessed pedophile" during a June 10 sermon.

One source that has been sited as a support for comments by Dr. Jerry Vines is the book, Unveiling Islam: A Insider's Look at Muslim Life and Beliefs by brothers Ergun and Emir Caner, published by Kregel Publications of Grand Rapids, MI.

Ergun Caner is assistant professor of theology and church history at Criswell College, Dallas. Emir Caner is assistant professor of church history and Anabaptist studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, N.C. Both Emir and Ergun Caner were Sunni Muslims who became Christians in 1982.

Published reports of a June 12 press conference held during the Southern Baptist Convention's annual Pastor's Conference in St. Louis, state that the authors affirmed that Vines quoted from their book. Ergun Caner has corrected these reports by stating that Vines was quoting from a sermon by Ergun at Vine's church earlier this year. Caner affirmed, however, that Vine's statements are based on and supported by the Hadith, a highly respected source for Islamic teaching among Muslim clerics and followers worldwide.

The Hadith, volume 7, book 6, number 64 and 65, verifies that Muhammad married a 6-year-old girl and consummated the marriage when she was 9, the professor-brothers said.

A lengthy passage from the Hadith, volume 1, book 1, chapter 1, shows that Muhammad himself believed he was under demonic influence, but it notes that Muhammad's wife, Khadija, is the one who deemed his experience as "divine," Ergun Caner observed.

In Unveiling Islam, the brothers state, "Muhammad was deathly afraid of the source of the revelation, believing at first that he was possessed by an evil spirit or jinn. . . . Certainly no major prophet in the Bible attributes God's revelation to demons, as Muhammad believed that he was demon-possessed after Allah's revelation." (p. 42).

Concerning his marriage to Aishah, a young girl, they write, "The most questionable of the marriages of Muhammad was with young Aishah. Muhammad betrothed her when she was just six and consummated the marriage when she was nine. . . . How a prophet of noble character could wed someone so young, even in the culture of the day, remains a mystery. Many gloss over this act." (p. 59).

"Throughout history, even in cultures oppressive to women, sexual relations with someone as young as nine years old have seldom been acceptable." (p. 135).

While recognizing that their comments and writings are often mistakenly construed as an attack on Islam, the brothers maintain that their goal is to focus attention on the actual statements of the Koran and Hadith. "It's simply a matter of quoting [Islamic] sources," Emir Caner has stated. "If we are wrong in our understanding of the Islamic scriptures, we would be happy to be corrected."