Herman Cain Tells His Scary Almost-Muslim Doctor Story Again at the Holy Land Experience

By Matthew Hendley Mon., Nov. 21 2011 at 2:29 PM

Categories: Election, Religion

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Photo by Adele Hampton

Herman Cain

Back when Herman Cain was a nobody candidate early in the election, he got in a bit of trouble when he said he'd be wary of bringing a Muslim into his Cabinet.

He backed off of that for a while. That is, until he made a trip to the Jesus of theme parks -- the Holy Land Experience in Orlando -- to recycle an old scary-Muslim story.

Enter the revival of Dr. Abdallah.

Chris Moody from the Ticket was apparently the only reporter there and got a whiff of what preacher Cain was emitting this weekend:

Cain, a layman pastor and gospel singer, appears right at home as he walks up to the stage in his suit and signature gold tie.

"You all have to forgive me, but this feels like a pulpit and I am a preacher," he says during the talk. "It's just a natural thing when I get into this setting, ya know?"

"Preach it, brother!" a man on the front row yells.

Cain speaks for nearly a half an hour and despite a couple fleeting "999" mentions, keeps his speech to topics of faith and his recent battle with cancer. He begins with a story about how he knew he would survive when he discovered that his physician was named "Dr. Lord," that the hospital attendant's name was "Grace" and that the incision made on his chest during the surgery would be in the shape of a "J."

"Come on, y'all. As in J-E-S-U-S! Yes! A doctor named Lord! A lady named Grace! And a J-cut for Jesus Almighty," Cain boomed.

Then comes the point where he found out his surgeon was named Dr. Abdallah.

"I said to his physician assistant, I said, 'That sounds foreign -- not that I had anything against foreign doctors -- but it sounded too foreign," Cain tells the audience. "She said, 'He's from Lebanon.' Oh, Lebanon! My mind immediately started thinking, Wait a minute, maybe his religious persuasion is different than mine! She could see the look on my face and she said, 'Don't worry, Mr. Cain, he's a Christian from Lebanon.'"

"Hallelujah!" Cain says. "Thank God!"

The crowd laughs uneasily.

It's hard to tell whether the crowd just doesn't like the story or if they think Dr. Abdallah is still an undercover Muslim, but it's still one of the more awkward stories he has.

Here's how he told it in church back in February (it starts around the 5:00 mark):

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