There have been crazy Islamicists since the word go - Conan Doyle wrote about them in the 1880s, and of course there was that little brushfire war with the Mahdi . . .
He said it right after he did it. I'll see if I can find some links for you.
http://www.edwardjayepstein.com/archived/papal.htm
Agca was a member of the Grey Wolves, decribed for years as a neo-fascist group, their ties to islam never mentioned. Today we know them as islamofascists.
http://www.chicagoboyz.net/archives/002296.html
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/pope/articles/poassassination.htm
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/pope/articles/poassassination.htm