Saudi links driving and early sex

The suggestion is that driving will allow greater mixing of genders and could promote sex.

Saudi women have staged several protests in defiance of the ban. The king has already promised some reforms, including allowing women to vote in municipal elections in 2015.

There was no official criticism or commentary on the scholar's views, and it was unclear whether they were solicited by the Shura Council or submitted independently. But social-media sites were flooded with speculation that traditional-minded clerics and others will fight hard against social changes suggested by the 87-year-old king.

Saudi's ruling family, which oversees Islam's holiest sites, draws its legitimacy from the kingdom's religious establishment, which follows a strict brand of Islam known as Wahhabism. Though King Abdullah has pushed for some changes to women's rights, he is cautious not to push too hard against the clerics.

In October, Saudi Arabia named a new heir to the throne. The selection of Prince Nayef appeared to embolden the ultraconservative clerics to challenge any sweeping social reforms.