"Several dozen police officers surrounded the mosque and stood near a grassy area where Jones planned to demonstrate.
They quelled a brief confrontation between the crowd and brothers Jesus and Ruben Melendez, who supported Jones.
"I don't support burning the Quran, but I support his message about radical Islam," said Jesus Melendez, 47, whose Detroit ministry is called Victory in the Blood.
With tempers rising, Imam Sayed Hassan Al-Qazwini, leader of the mosque, arrived in a black police cruiser to plead with the crowd to remain peaceful.
"We need no confrontation," he said over the police car's intercom. "This isn't good for Islam or anything."