CAIRO, January 17 (RIA Novosti) - Egyptian police have detained a man who claimed to be Imam Hujjat al-Mahdi, the prophesied redeemer of Islam who is to appear on Earth before the 'Day of Judgement,' national media said on Thursday.

The man, a driver from a southern Egyptian province, declared himself "Imam Mahdi, chosen by God to relieve people from earthly evil" at a prayer service at a mosque in Egypt's resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.

He was arrested after the service and will be sent to a mental asylum for a psychiatric examination.

Many Muslims believe that Imam Mahdi will appear on Earth some years before Yaum al-Qiyamah, the Islamic apocalypse, to restore the absolute purity of the Islamic faith and save humanity.

In November 1979 the Grand Mosque in Mecca was captured by some 1,500 men led by a former corporal in the Saudi White Guards. The ex-corporal declared Mohammad Abdullah al Querishi to be redeemer of Islam. A two-week siege ensued, resulting in many deaths, before the mosque was taken back under government control.