Imam Mazhar Shahin
Imam Mazhar Shahin was very influential during the Arab Spring

Mazhar Shahin, the imam of the Omar Makram mosque on Tahrir Square, has called on men to divorce their wives if the women show any affiliation with the banned Muslim Brotherhood party.

"One person marries the other and afterward discovers that they're with the Muslim Brotherhood," he said during a televised speech to the nation.

"So there's a sleeper cell in your house, a housewife sleeping with you in your bedroom.

"There are priorities, we call these [Islamic] jurisprudential priorities. Should I sacrifice my wife or Egypt? My wife, in the end, is just a person. ...But when I say sacrifice, I don't mean I kill her. I mean that I divorce her and I give her all of her rights, and I protect my country and my patriotism."

Shahin, commonly known as the "preacher of the revolution", was one of the most influential Imams during the Arab Spring revolution.

The imam was temporarily suspended due to his political sermons.

Shahin said his suspension was to transform the mosque into one that advocates the Muslim Brotherhood and take it away from the revolutionaries, the Egypt Independent reported.

"The complaint, filed by a Brotherhood member, said that my sermon caused division among the worshipers when all the evidence he provided showed that I was calling for unity," he continued.

"Because of my position against 'Brotherhoodizing' Al-Azhar and the state, and my defence of Al-Azhar and its [grand] sheikh, the minister of endowments issued a decision to suspend me before any interrogations were carried out" Shaheen said.

"He assigned in my place one of the pro-Muslim Brotherhood group imams, without prior warning or interrogation, in violation of the law."

"Congratulations on having the Mosque," Shahin said addressing the Muslim Brotherhood; he then added he would take legal action against the decision.

The Muslim Brotherhood ruled the country after the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in February 2011, until the coup d'état which ousted former President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013.

Morsi was substituted by an interim military regime led by General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who will run for the next presidency.

The Muslim Brotherhood was designated a terrorist group by the military regime.

Following a two-day referendum during which Egyptians voted on a new constitution, the country is again rocked by attacks and clashes. Four blasts killed at least six people and left 100 wounded last week, and other 49 died during marches that marked the anniversary of 2011 Egypt revolt.