OCTOBER 25, 2001 - BERLIN (Reuters) - Religion is back in fashion as a bewildered world turns to God in the wake of the suicide plane attacks on U.S. cities, and churches, mosques and synagogues do their best to provide spiritual solace and guidance.

It has been standing room only at memorial services around the globe by all faiths for the victims of the September 11 attacks, and church and synagogue attendance has shot up after years of decline.

While mosques have not reported a significant rise in congregation size, Friday prayers have become a rallying point for Muslim anger against U.S. military strikes on Afghanistan.

But most spiritual leaders are keen to play down suggestions of a new clash of civilisations and are concentrating instead on building bridges. A multi-faith delegation at a peace conference in New York was due to visit the World Trade Center ruins on Wednesday.

"A lot of people who don't normally go to church are now coming and asking how could this happen, what does it mean," said Beth Ferris, the executive secretary for international affairs at the Geneva-based World Council of Churches (WCC).

"People always turn to religion in times of crisis. But this time it is more powerful because of the nature of the attacks and the feeling it could happen anywhere, coupled with a belief the world has changed in ways people can't understand."

As fear of flying has soared after the suicide hijackings, Father Walter Maader, who runs the chapel at Frankfurt international airport, has been busy.

"There are real worries, real concerns. Those who come have been really affected and our condolence book is full," he said.

Jehovah's Witnesses have also been out in force on the streets of Nicosia.

Michele Baron, a spokeswoman for France's 600,000-member Jewish community, said Sabbath services had been fuller. "Every time there is a crisis, there is a return to the sacred."

Rabbi Jonathan Romain, a spokesman for the Jewish Information and Media Service in Britain, where around 310,000 Jews live, estimated congregations were up some 15 percent. "Jews want to show their solidarity and camaraderie," he said.

Like many Muslim communities, leaders of Italy's 650,000 Muslims said they had not seen any outward change in religious worship but believed the attacks had led to an upheaval in how the community thought about faith and politics.

"This is a moment of cultural identity crisis," said Ali Schutz, a respected member of Milan's Muslim community.

The WCC's Ferris said while many churches were calling for an end to the U.S. air strikes on Afghanistan to allow humanitarian operations to resume, some in Russia, Britain and the United States were seeking to justify retaliatory action.

"The churches reflect the diverse opinion of people in different countries," she said.

The U.S. military action sparked religious clashes in Nigeria earlier this month in which more than 200 people were killed. There have also been Muslim riots in Pakistan and marches in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

But most religious leaders have tried to calm tensions and quash fears of a new Christian crusade against Islam.

"We hope that more intensive dialogue and contact will mean we cannot be divided but can learn from each other," said Hasan Ozdogan, the chairman of the Islam Council in Germany, which is home to some three million Muslims.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo led some 2,000 worshippers on Wednesday in prayers for world peace recited by both Christians and Muslims. The Philippines is Asia's only Christian country and has a minority Muslim population.

Various groups are supporting the idea of a special day when women around the world, regardless of their faith, will wear scarves or hats to cover their hair to show solidarity with Muslim women who face discrimination in the West.

The manager of the Leoniana religious bookstore around the corner from the Vatican has had so many requests for books about Islam that he has set up a special section for them.