Reverend Terry Jones, leader of the Dove World Outreach Center, a tiny Pentecostal church in Gainesville, has backed down from his plan to burn the Quran. Reverend Jones’ plan to burn copies of the Quran on the ninth anniversary of September 11^th lit an international firestorm. Now Reverend Jones says he will not burn any Qurans – and he doesn’t think anyone else should, either.

Few legal boundaries stood between Florida Pastor Terry Jones and his plans to burn copies of the Quran on Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the September 11th attacks.

While most of the world voiced dismay at Pastor Jones' political statement, fearing it would incite violence and radicalize religious extremists overseas, Jones argued that was demonstrating against what he calls the extremism of Islam. Yesterday, the pastor decided to call off his campaign to burn the sacred text after reaching what he said was an "agreement" to meet with the people planning an Islamic cultural center and mosque near ground zero.

This summer, city-backed plans to build an interfaith community center and mosque two blocks away from Ground Zero sparked an international debate.  Although there are nuances to the arguments, one side clearly feels that building a mosque near the site of the September 11th attacks is an affront to the victims; on the other hand, supporters say that there is no reason to block the plans, beyond simple “Islamophobia.” 

"We are proceeding with the community center, Cordoba House," Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf announced in an op-ed in today's New York Times, referring to the proposed Islamic community center in Lower Manhattan that critics deride as the "ground zero mosque." On the eve of the ninth anniversary of 9/11, Rauf acknowledged the controversy that has polarized Americans and drawn the attention of Muslims all over the world. Rauf says he is "sensitive to the feelings of the families of victims of 9/11," but adds that the Cordoba House will be "a center for unification and healing."

On Wednesday, Michael Enright, 21, a college student who had just returned from doing volunteer work in Afghanistan, was charged with using a tool to slash the neck and face of a New York City taxi driver after the driver told Enright he was a Muslim.

Police have deemed the attack a hate crime — and the suspect is being held without bail on charges of attempted murder and assault. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance has recommended that its members refrain from talking about religion with their customers, and Muslim cab drivers aren't the only ones worried that the debate over the Islamic Cultural Center, Park 51, has brought on a new wave of "Islamophobia."

Whether they are families of September 11 victims or just normal New Yorkers, a recent poll showed that the city is split over Park 51, the Islamic cultural center and mosque proposed a few blocks from Ground Zero, in lower Manhattan. Two-thirds of New Yorkers are against it, and less than one-third in favor. Mid-term election candidates have made the center an election issue, with politicians defending it as a First Amendment right or demanding that the city prevent the construction by taking over the site via "eminent domain." With all the controversy, emotions are running high. 

If you could decide whether or not the center were built at that location, how would you make your decision?

The 9^th anniversary of the September 11 attacks is coming up next month – and Ground Zero is once again a center of religious controversy. The current flashpoint is a planned $100 million Islamic cultural center and mosque, scheduled to be built by private investors two blocks from the World Trade Center site. Last week, President Obama weighed in, saying Muslims have the right to build the religious center; many Republicans have sharply criticized the plans.

Amidst the controversy New York’s Governor David Paterson, has said moving the proposed 'Park 51 Center' to a location away from Ground Zero would be “magic moment” for him.

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