I don't think that anyone is seriously trying to hold either language up into a comparison with the other, such that either one would be “found wanting.”

With the possible exception of a handful of n00b's who still think that “an O’Reilly book is a recipe for a lifetime career-plan” (most of whom are rather unlikely to frequent these parts), I don't think you have any reason to fear a flame-war here. (Yawn... feels nice, doesn't it?)

As you say, PHP and Perl are both well-designed for different purposes, and Perl's scope (in practice...) is much larger. Yet, within the context of both languages, pure-magic can be done. And most of us make our living today with both.