Since you mentioned it, why DID the previous pope kiss the koran?
It has been said that the book (green) that Pope John Paul II kissed was not the Koran, but was the Book of Gospels for the Orthodox Church or some other Eastern Rite Church.
Seriously - my guess is that it was a foolish act of "Ecumenism" - sadly not the only one we've had to endure, and maybe not even the worst example. If you really want to get your anti-Catholic juices going have a look at Franciscan Day of Prayer for Peace a couple of decades back.
Jimmy Aikin has a pretty good summary of the koran issue here.
Believe me you won't shock me by informing me of foolish or even heretical things done by leadership in the church. Christ warned us that there would be wolves in the church so we shouldn't be surprised.
Believe me it pains us Catholics more than anyone that there are so many bishops that appear to fit this description. Fortunately the trend is good - it does seem to be getting better, which started under the "koran kissing" JPII.
Now a question for you: By external appearances (no one can know the mind except God) would you say that John Paul II lived a life devoted to Christ?