Youssef Al-Ahmed had urged people not to shop at Panda stores because women there work in jobs that allow for the mingling of the sexes. Al-Ahmed says this is a violation of Islamic law.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheik's office confirmed Thursday that Al-Ahmed had been ordered to refrain from issuing fatwas without authorization.

Saudi media said the fatwa forced the chain to reassign 11 women employees on Wednesday.

A recent royal decree from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah restricted the issuance of fatwas to approved Saudi scholars.

Many preachers and conservatives have attacked the move by Panda to employ women as cashiers. On the other hand, a campaign on the social networking website Facebook supports the supermarket chain's initiative.

"This campaign was set up to support the efforts of Panda in reducing unemployment in Saudi society," says a group statement on the page.

"Whether the worker is a man or a woman, both have the right to work and earn a living. It's better for women to work rather than begging or receiving funds from charities. And in the case of gender mixing, we do not think it is contrary to Islam if it occurs within the framework of chastity and modesty."

The group's members claim women are harassed irrespective of whether they are behind or in front of the counter.

"Why do they always make a woman sound like a weak person who cannot resist men? And why are men always better than women?" asked Maha Al-Harby, a member of the group.

"I think it's up to women. If she was going to do something wrong then she wouldn't have applied for a job, she would have used other ways to make money."

Members of the group also referred to a campaign against men working in lingerie shops.

"Men are still selling in lingerie shops and women are still buying from them because they have to. And those religious men did not do a thing about it," said Layla Asaad on the Facebook page.

"Now they are making a strong stand against women cashiers, which is a way better job than selling underwear to others."

A source at Panda said the company had no intention of going back on its decision. "We have started with sixteen cashiers and it's still in the testing period as we want to see how it will affect business," he told Al-Madinah Arabic daily.

"For now we are not commenting because we still don't know what will happen to those women, so we will continue with our trial."

He also praised the women cashiers for their "quality, dedication and sincerity."

A former member of the Shoura Council, Muhammad Al-Zulfah, is among those supporting Panda's stance. "Islam has never prevented women from education and work. Those who oppose the work of women should re-educate themselves," he said.

— With input from agencies