Hard-line Islamist preacher Abu-Islam Ahmed Abdullah, who faces charges of 'defaming Christianity,' was referred to the Cairo Criminal Court by prosecutors on Sunday.

The Islamist preacher has been on trial for burning copies of the New Testament last September outside the US embassy in Cairo's Garden City district.

Prosecutors on Sunday referred Abdullah to the Cairo Criminal Court, where he will face charges of insulting Christianity and insulting Egyptian women in a television appearance.

Abdullah, a staunch supporter of the Salafist Nour Party and the Muslim Brotherhood, is the owner of two Salafist-oriented Egyptian satellite channels, Umma and Mariya.

The case represents the first time for charges filed for denigrating Christianity to be investigated, rights lawyer Naguib Gibrail said in earlier statements to Ahram Online.