Egypt’s justice minister has faced an online backlash after his controversial remarks about imprisoning the Prophet Muhammad went viral.

Justice Minister Ahmed el-Zend was on a private Egyptian channel discussing his opponents when the interviewer asked him whether he would imprison journalists.

“Even if it’s the prophet – peace and prayers upon him,” Zend said before quickly repenting. He then added that anyone who is at fault will be imprisoned “regardless of their stature”.

Egypt’s justice minister has faced an online backlash after his controversial remarks about imprisoning the Prophet Muhammad went viral.

Justice Minister Ahmed el-Zend was on a private Egyptian channel discussing his opponents when the interviewer asked him whether he would imprison journalists.

“Even if it’s the prophet – peace and prayers upon him,” Zend said before quickly repenting. He then added that anyone who is at fault will be imprisoned “regardless of their stature”.

“Even judges get imprisoned. I don’t want to discuss imprisoning a journalist or a teacher, I'm talking about imprisoning the accused, don't give them a title,” he said.

Egypt’s al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’s highest seat of learning, released a statement on Sunday warning against any blasphemous comments surrounding the prophet “even if it were a mistake”.

Videos of Zend’s comments were shared widely online, causing the Arabic hashtag “Not the prophet, Prosecute el-Zend” to trend on Twitter in Egypt.

The hashtag has been used by many people online calling for Zend’s resignation and prosecution as a consequence of his remarks.

Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, a former presidential candidate in Egypt’s 2012 election, tweeted his condemnation of Zend’s remarks and urged criminal charges be brought.

Another user named Mostafa Hesham tweeted out how Zend’s predecessor resigned amid public outrage after he said the sons of rubbish collectors should not become judges.

“The former justice minister was removed after commenting on the garbage collector, so imagine talking like that about the prophet,” he said.

But Mahdi Abo Fateem, a Saudi Arabian author, reminded readers that Zend quickly backed away from the comments.

“Despite our differences with el-Zend, we have to tell the truth. The man repented when he realised his mistake,” Abo Fateem tweeted.

Others tweeted about the remarks in English.

An Egyptian TV host, Yousef el-Hosseiny, attacked Zend on his show saying the minister can't self-censor what he says.

“[Zend] cannot moderate his own speech, nor can he control his outbursts... This is the Egyptian minister of justice, be careful,” Hosseiny said on his show.

Following the negative reaction online, Zend phoned in to an Egyptian talk show to defend himself, saying he never meant any offence.

“I said ‘if’ – those who understand this word know that this was a hypothetical matter... That remark didn’t hold anything and even then – because of my genuine religious feelings – I repented immediately,” he said.

Zend also accused the Muslim Brotherhood of stirring outrage against him, saying both Egyptian media and social media have “fallen prey” to the group’s alleged smear campaign.

Last January, Zend also found himself the subject of controversy after saying he won’t be satisfied unless 400,000 members of the Muslim Brotherhood were killed in return for Egypt’s fallen army soldiers.

“I swear 400,000 will not suffice… I swear by God almighty that, personally, the fire in my heart will not be extinguished unless for each one [soldier killed] there are at least 10,000 [Brotherhood members killed],” he said.

New York-based Human Rights Watch condemned his comments advocating the mass killing of Brotherhood supporters.

Members of the Muslim Brotherhood have faced a major crackdown by Egyptian authorities since the toppling of former President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. (Al Jazeera)

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