TUNIS, January 4, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – Tunisian scholars have reacted in anger to remarks by the religious affairs minister and a university professor criticizing hijab and one of Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) companions.

Minister Aboubaker Akhzouri said last week that hijab does not fit with the North African country's cultural heritage.

"Akhzour's remarks were politically motivated and had nothing to do with the Islamic teachings," Sheikh Mohamed Mokhtar Al-Salami, former Tunisian mufti, told IslamOnline.net Wednesday, January 4, over the phone.

"Akhzour is a politician who, as politicians everywhere, makes statements on a background of a political agenda."

Sheikh Abdul Rahman Khalif, an imam, also slammed the anti-hijab remarks.

"The minister's remarks criticizing hijab were evil-minded," he said, calling on Muslims around the globe to stick to their Islamic teachings.

In an interview with Assabah newspaper, Akhzuori said that hijab was a "foreign phenomenon" in Tunisian society.

"It's regrettable that we don't respect our identity," the Tunisian minister has said.

He further said that Tunisian government has rejected Muslim tunics like those worn in Gulf states and the "practice" of men wearing long beards.

The minister declined comment on the remarks when approached by IOL.

Jalool Al-Gerebi, chairman of the state-run Supreme Islamic Council, also dodged a question on the controversial remarks.

The two Tunisian scholars also denounced as "nonsense" remarks by a university professor, who claimed that hijab had nothing to do with Islam.

Sawahi further criticized Omar bin Al-Khattab, companion of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), saying "he was the archenemy of women."

"These remarks are nonsense and don't deserve comment," sheikh Salami said.

He stressed that bin Al-Khattab is respected by both Muslims and non-Muslims.

Sheikh Khalif agreed, hailing Tunisian women who insisted on wearing hijab despite the mounting pressures by the government to force veiled women to take off their hijab.

The anti-hijab remarks had drawn rebukes from Tunisian religious figures abroad.

Sheikh Wanis Mabrouk, professor of Islamic studies in Wales, said the remarks were offensive and an insult to Islam.

He said that the anti-hijab remarks also threatened to widen the gap between the Tunisian people and the government, and harm the communal harmony.