Pastor Terry Jones had threatened to burn the Muslim holy book on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks over plans to build an Islamic center near where militants brought down the World Trade Center nine years ago. He flew to New York and appeared on NBC’s “Today” show.

He said his church’s goal was “to expose that there is an element of Islam that is very dangerous and very radical.” He told NBC that “we have definitely accomplished that mission.” He said no meeting was planned with the imam leading the center but he hoped one would take place.

Meanwhile, Afghans set fire to tires in the streets and shouted “Death to America” for a second day on Saturday despite Jones’ decision to call off plans. The protests, the largest drawing a crowd estimated at more than 10,000 people, continued. In a country where most people have limited access to newspapers, TV and the Internet, most Afghans were unaware of Jones’ decision. The Taleban have been distributing pamphlets decrying Jones’ plans, claiming they showed the Americans were in Afghanistan to wage war against Islam.

In Logar province near the capital of Kabul, police fired warning shots to prevent protesters from storming the governor’s residence in the provincial capital of Puli Alam, officials said. Villagers set fire to tires and briefly blocked the main highway to neighboring Pakistan, according to provincial spokesman Din Mohammad Darwish.

Nabi Charkhi, the deputy provincial police chief, estimated the crowd at more than 10,000. Witnesses said Taleban agitators were among the crowd. The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear for their personal safety. At least four people were injured, police said.

“All these youths, elders have gathered here because of the Qur’an,” said Amir Gul, a Logar protester. “We will continue our protest until they change their decision about burning our Holy Book and we will not keep silent.”

Another protester, Abdullah Hanafi, said that if copies of the Qur’an are set ablaze, the government should join forces with the Taleban “to force out all the invaders from our country.”

In Badakhshan, several thousand people took to the streets in three separate districts. Several hundred protesters rallied Saturday outside the giant Bagram Air Field, a major NATO base north of Kabul.

In New York, meanwhile, about 2,000 people rallied near Ground Zero to support a proposed mosque at the center of a bitter national debate over the role of US Muslims. Protesters, many holding lighted candles, said those trying to stop construction of a mosque near the site of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center were demonizing Muslims and undermining fundamental US rights. “We stand together to rebuff the stereotypes,” Susan Lerner, New York director of the rights group Common Cause, told the crowd. “We reject the idea that any neighborhood in our great city is off limits to any particular group.” The rally preceded another support rally and one in opposition to the mosque that were both due to be held Saturday.

Protesters late Friday said the attempt to prevent the planned Islamic cultural center and mosque from being built two blocks from Ground Zero meant equating all Muslims with the terrorists in 9/11. “The important thing here in New York is that it’s not really about Ground Zero — it’s about the rising tide of Islamophobia. It’s a form of racism that is suddenly OK,” said Rebecca Vilkomerson, director of Jewish Voices for Peace.

Another protester, software researcher Eric Lazarus, said the most important issue was defending the US constitution’s protection of religious freedom, meaning that Muslims have as much right as any religion to establish a house of worship at any location.