We propose a scheme enabling the universal coupling of angular momentum of
N remote noninteracting qubits using linear optical tools only. Our system consists of
N single-photon emitters in a $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ configuration that are entangled among their long-lived ground-state qubits through suitably designed measurements of the emitted photons. In this manner, we present an experimentally feasible algorithm that is able to generate any of the
2N symmetric and nonsymmetric total angular momentum eigenstates spanning the Hilbert space of the
N-qubit compound.
Incoherent scattering of photons off two remote atoms with a $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$-level structure is used as a basic Young-type interferometer to herald long-lived entanglement of an arbitrary degree. The degree of entanglement, as measured by the concurrence, is found to be tunable by two easily accessible experimental parameters. Fixing one of them to certain values unveils an analog to the Malus' law. An estimate of the variation in the degree of entanglement due to uncertainties in an experimental realization is given.