An Egyptian preacher has surprised his followers by announcing that he is indeed the Mahdi – prophesized in Islam as the religion’s last redeemer to fight alongside the Mesiah – and asked all Muslims to be pledge their allegiance to him.

Mohammed Abdullah al-Nasr, a famous Egyptian television preacher known as Sheikh Mizo , declared on his Facebook page that he is the “Mahdi”, quoting the Prophet Mohammad and calling both Sunnis and Shiites to comply with his ruling.

“Important statement: I hereby declare that I am the Imam Mahdi, Mohammad bin Abdullah, prophecies were told about me. I have come to rule with justice and I call on Sunnis, Shiites and the people of the earth as a whole to adhere to me as an illustration of the saying of the Prophet, peace be upon him as he said: (When the apocalypse comes, on the last day, God will send someone of my descendent, his name is like mine, his father’s name is like my father’s name, and he will rule with justice an earth that was ruled with oppression and injustice). Saying as certified by Alalbani in Sahih Abou Daoued,” he wrote on Facebook.

Nasr said that the discourses of the prophet, leave no room for suspicion that the upcoming Mahdi is called Mohamed bin Abdullah, adding: “My name is indeed Mohammad bin Abdullah.”

Several Egyptian lawyers have demanded the prosecution of the preacher, requesting a psychiatric evaluation of his mental faculties.

Dr. Samir Sabri spoke to Al Arabiya stating that he filed a complaint on Monday to the Attorney-General requesting the prosecution of “Mizo” and assigning a court to follow his case where he will be charged with fraud and contempt of religion punishable under Articles 336 and 98 of Egypt’s penal code.

Another lawyer Amr Abdel-Salam told Al Arabiya that Article 89 stipulates that “punishable by imprisonment between six months and five years or a fine between 500 pounds and one thousand pounds against those who exploit religion verbally, in writing, or by any other means, aiming to provoke sedition, disparaging, contempt of religions or harming the national unity and security.”

Source: english.alarabiya.net