Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti, Sheik Abdul-Aziz al-Sheik responded in a statement aired Saturday by Al Majd television, a religious channel, to comments by the Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni expressing nostalgia for Egypt in the days when women didn't feel compelled to don headscarves. "It is a calamity that struck Islamic lands and contradicts the teachings of the Quran," al-Sheik said of Hosni's comments. "It is truly painful to hear such declarations from within Islamic lands, from people who are considered Muslims," he added. Muslim leaders roundly criticized Hosni's remarks, with some saying that officials should not make such comments.