President Barack Obama's speech in Cairo in which he pledged a new U.S. relationship with Muslim countries, has been named the top religion story for 2009 by journalists who cover religion in the United States.

The June speech in Egypt was seen as offering an olive branch to the Muslim world and was named the top story by more than 100 members of the Religion Newswriters Association .

During his talk, Obama invoked the Qur'an, Talmud and the Bible while declaring that America was not at war with Islam.