Ergun Caner gave vivid accounts of his Muslim upbringing to church audiences in Florida and Texas shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

When Liberty University begins the investigation it announced last week into the background of Ergun Caner, president of its seminary, the panel doing the work could explore several questions.

Where did Caner grow up — in Ohio or in Turkey?

When did he come to the United States — as a teenager as he has said, or at age 4 as his parents’ divorce documents indicate?

Did Caner have a nominal Muslim upbringing, or was he raised in Islamic jihad, “trained to do that which was done on 11 September” as he told an audience in Jacksonville, Fla., in November 2001?

Did he formally debate scholars of other faiths, including Islam, as his online biography once claimed?

Is Caner’s middle name Mehmet, as it’s shown on the cover of books he’s written — or is it Michael, as it’s listed on the concealed-weapons permit he got last year in Lynchburg?

Should he include an honorary degree in his curriculum vitae, which typically is the string of earned degrees that appears after the names of faculty members and administrators in university publications?

From bold statements to low-key image enhancers, issues raised by Internet bloggers have focused on just how colorful Caner’s Muslim background was when he converted from the Islamic faith to Christianity as a teenager.

Liberty University did not publicly respond to the bloggers’ allegations for most of this year, regarding them as the outgrowth of “a theological dispute,” spokesman Johnnie Moore said.

Last Monday, the university posted this notice: “Liberty University Provost Dr. Ron Godwin is forming a committee to investigate a series of accusations against Ergun Caner, president of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.

“The Internet allegations have questioned public statements Caner has made regarding the details of his personal life story.”

Caner, who joined the seminary’s faculty in 2003 and became its president in 2005, posted this comment later in the week: “I am thrilled that Liberty University is forming this committee, and I look forward to this entire process coming to a close.”

In February, Caner posted on his website a response to blog comments, acknowledging the questions and saying, “every minister has made pulpit mistakes.” He also said, “I have never intentionally misled anyone.”

The earliest blog posts came from advocates of Calvinism, a strict view of salvation that Caner openly opposed.