'The Mahdi': Man claiming to be messiah arrested in Morocco

A man who claimed to be a messiah during a Friday sermon in Morocco was arrested, local media said.

The man, in his fifties, reportedly told worshippers at a mosque in Marrakech that he was the Mahdi - a messianic figure in Islamic eschatology - who had come to save them, calling on them to believe in and worship him, according to Rue 20 website.

He was arrested by worshippers and then taken to police.

No further details were given.

Over the course of modern and medieval Islamic history, many people have claimed to be the Mahdi in several countries around the world.

Most recently, Egyptian authorities arrested another man who claimed to be the Mahdi.

Media sources in Egypt said that the man, named as Mohammed Habash, made several posts on social media in order to try to gain followers and claimed that "the helpers of the Dajjal" – the Muslim equivalent of the Antichrist – were following him and preventing him from preaching Islam to other people.

He also said that he "walked at God’s command and received instructions from Him". Habash was arrested in the town of Qutour in Gharbiyah province north of Cairo.

The Egyptian state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram reported that authorities detained him for "spreading false beliefs about the Islamic religion, and claiming that he was the promised Mahdi on social media".

An Egyptian security source said that Habash had placed a sign on the door of his house four months ago saying "House of the Promised Mahdi" with his telephone number.