RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - A group of hardline Saudi clerics urged the kingdom’s new information minister on Sunday to ban women from appearing on TV or in newspapers and magazines.

In a statement, the 35 clergymen also called on Abdel Aziz Khoja, who was appointed by King Abdullah Feb. 14 as part of a wide reform drive, to prohibit the playing of music and music shows on television.

"We have great hope that this media reform will be accomplished by you," said the statement. "We have noticed how well-rooted perversity is in the Ministry of Information and Culture, in television, radio, press, culture clubs and the book fair."

The clerics’ recommendation will probably have little effect because the king’s reshuffle removed a number of hardline figures and is believed to be part of an effort to weaken the influence of conservatives in this devout desert kingdom.

The statement does, however, put a degree of pressure on the new minister and lets him know the feelings of the country’s powerful religious establishment.

"No Saudi women should appear on TV, no matter what the reason," added the statement. "No images of women should appear in Saudi newspapers and magazines."

Saudi Arabia was founded on an alliance with the conservative Wahhabi strain of Islam that sees the mixing of sexes as anathema and believes the playing of music violates religious values.