New Delhi: Shahi Imam of Delhi's historic Jama Masjid, Syed Ahmed Bukhari on September 24 condemned the attack on Swaminarayan temple in Gandhinagar terming it as "anti-Islamic" but said Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's "gaurav yatra" could have provoked it.

"Islam does not permit killing of innocent civilians. I appeal to Muslims and our Hindu brethren to join hands to wipe out terrorism from the country's soil," Bukhari said.

He, however, said some anti-minorities statements allegedly made by Modi during his gaurav yatra and the post-Godhra violence in the state "could have provoked a retaliatory act".

Condemning the attack as a "conspiracy to defame Islam and Muslims", president of the All India Organisation of Imams of Mosques Maulana Jameel Illyasi demanded stern action against the culprits.

"The attack is against the teachings of Islam and this kind of anarchy is unacceptable to Indian Muslims," he said.

Appealing to all people believing in secular values to exercise restraint and unite, president of Sanatan Sanskriti Sansthan Jagjiwan Bakshi said, "peace should prevail at all costs".

PTI