Violent protests over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad

Is this a religious issue or a political one? Hard to tell.
Here is the opinion of a young colleague of mine whose judgment I value.

To some extent religion is a tricky matter. Cold logic might suggest that making fun of one's religious beliefs is perhaps not as bad as making fun of their political beliefs: the latter is an informed judgment while the former is something accepted de facto. BUT, when emotions come into play, things become tricky. ...continues here!