"It is not correct to say that. Another man resembling Jesus was crucified in his place," Gaddafi told a March 30 mass prayer meeting in Niger to mark the birth of the Prophet Mohammed. The meeting was aired live on Libyan state television.

The president, according to Reuters, also said Christianity was not a universal faith alongside Islam.

"There are serious mistakes - among them the one saying that Jesus came as a messenger for other people other than the sons of Israel," he said.

"Christianity is not a faith for people in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. Other people who are not sons of Israel have nothing to do with that religion."

Gaddafi, who is seeking to expand his influence in Africa, said his arguments came from the Koran. He led similar prayers last year in Mali. His country is more than 95 percent Sunni Muslim.

"It is a mistake that another religion exists alongside Islam. There is only one religion which is Islam after Mohammed," Gaddafi said in his sermon.

"All those believers who do not follow Islam are losers," he added. "We are here to correct the mistakes in the light of the teachings of the Koran."