BREAKING NEWS: Not so fast on that whole Bonfire of the Insanities thing …

By the CNN Wire Staff//

September 9, 2010 5:15 p.m. EDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Florida pastor says he’s called off Quran burning
• Websites associated with the pastor and his church are taken down
• The Obama administration discussed the possibility of intervening
• Muslim civil liberties group launches a “Learn, Don’t Burn” initiative

(CNN) — The Florida pastor who had planned to burn copies of the Quran on Saturday has called it off.

The Rev. Terry Jones of the Gainesville, Florida-based Dove World Outreach Center made the announcement Thursday.

Earlier Thursday, President Obama said Jones’ plan, which had triggered worldwide controversy, would be a “recruitment bonanza for al Qaeda.”

“You could have serious violence in places like Pakistan or Afghanistan” as a result of the proposal by Jones, Obama said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “This could increase the recruitment of individuals who’d be willing to blow themselves up in American cities, or European cities.”

READ THE REST OF THE STORY AND UPDATES HERE: LINK

UPDATE #3 via NYTimes: Pastor Cancels Koran Burning and Plans to Meet Imam

By DAMIEN CAVE

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The pastor planning a burning of the Koran on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks said Thursday he would not go forward with the event, adding he plans to meet with the imam planning to build an Islamic center near ground zero.

Terry Jones, the pastor from Gainesville, Fla., said at a press conference, “We have agreed to cancel the event.”

The pastor’s announcement came after a growing chorus of demands, from President Obama to religious leaders, American generals and others, that he cancel the event planned for Saturday because of the potential imact on Christian-Muslim relations and the effect a Koran burning would have on American troops fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.

But details of the pastor’s planned meeting with the Imam, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, remained elusive. Mr. Jones did say he got a promise to move the New York mosque, although such an agreement could not be independently confirmed.

“I have agreed to meet with him,” Mr. Jones said in reference to the Imam.

“We have at this time no regrets,” he said. “We feel we have accomplished our goal. We are very very happy with the outcome.”

The pastor’s decision came the same day President Obama said that the pastor’s plan to burn the Koran  on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was a “stunt” that violates American principles of religious tolerance.

“If he’s listening, I just hope he understands that what he’s proposing to do is completely contrary to our values as Americans,” Mr. Obama said in an interview shown Thursday on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” referring to to Mr. Jones.

READ THE REST AND UPDATES HERE: LINK