A Filipino immigrant was arrested by Belgian police after his mates sent him a joke SMS pretending to be the World Trade Center terrorist Osama bin Laden.

The joke was enough to get the Filipino detained for 12 hours. The police thought he was being paid by bin Laden so they asked him where he got his money and checked his address book.

The prankster's ordeal only ended when his priest popped around to the police station and pointed out that the 'Islamic fundamentalist' was actually a good catholic and asked if he could go home now.

According to Filipino newspaper The Inquirer, Father Apolo de Guzman resolved the situation. "When the police heard they were Catholics, that they go to mass, they were satisfied. A lot of us received the text from friends in the Philippines. We explained to the police it was a joke. Eventually they believed us," he said.

The hoax message has been doing the rounds over the last few days and reads something like: "I was wondering if I can stay with you for a couple of days. Everybody's so angry at me. And I really need a friend." The message is signed: "Yours truly, Osama bin Laden."