No Pope should ever have kissed the Koran or Quaran;that picture showed a man exhibiting great weakness of intellect and a terrible lapse in faith.There is literally no good excuse. When in Rome,do as the Romans was not the charge given to Peter and his successors.
As a Catholic,I am terribly upset and angered by the act pictured here.
He was showing love towards the iraq muslums who helped Christians( catholic or independent protestant). Remember they lived under a dictatorship. He did not agree with the Koran. Historical spiritual events were happening. Relax. If he refused to meet there could be died christians. There so much going on the world then a simplistic reaction.