U.S. : Religion

AP - Tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews from around the world gathered in a small Ukrainian city Thursday to mark the Jewish New Year at the tomb of their spiritual leader — an apparent record for the annual all-male pilgrimage banned for decades by the Soviets.

AP - Amid the uproar over the proposed mosque near ground zero in New York, a new Islamic college recently opened its doors in California with plans to educate a new generation of Muslim-American leaders.

AFP - US President Barack Obama warned a Florida church's plan to burn Korans would bolster Al-Qaeda Thursday as the church at the center of the storm defied a growing chorus of global outrage.

AFP - The cleric behind a proposed Islamic center in New York said he would not have planned it so close to the site of the September 11, 2001 attacks had he foreseen the level of "pain" triggered by the controversial project.

AP - A Muslim stonemason who spent nearly four decades helping to restore a Roman Catholic cathedral in France has been immortalized as a winged gargoyle peering out from its facade — with the inscription "God is great" written in French and Arabic.

AFP - An evangelical pastor insisted his plans to torch the Koran would go ahead after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned the "disgraceful" burning ceremony in Florida.

AFP - A small Florida church Wednesday brushed aside global outrage and vowed to go ahead with burning some 200 Korans, as local officials drew up plans to try to tamp down the protest.

AP - Pope Benedict XVI thanked the British on Wednesday for the "vast amount of work" they have put into his upcoming visit and said he hoped their efforts would pay off.

Reuters - Families of September 11 victims are arguing whether to call a truce on the anniversary of the 2001 attacks on the United States as debate rages over plans for a Muslim center near the World Trade Center site.