I can't fathom it

How can someone feel so insulted that they resort to violence?  I can understand that some insults could really hurt some of us.  I would hope that most of us would ignore it, return it or end a relationship.  Apparently, such a response would not be the correct one for many Muslims.  They need to make their feelings very public, some have to resort to violence and violence to such a degree that innocent people are killed. 

One Muslim religious scholar thinks "depictions of the prophet...an offense against our rights".  Another calls for "criminalizing of assaults on the sanctities of all heavenly religions" (I wonder how he defines heavenly religions?).  A business man claims, "When you insult a faith, you are insulting a whole nation that feels the pain". 

An article by Thomas Friedman has some interesting quotes from Muslims, most of whom are clergy:

Christianity is “a reeking corpse, on which you have to constantly pour eau de cologne and perfume, and wash it in order to keep it clean.”
It is permissible to spill the blood of the Iraqi Christians — and a duty to wage jihad against them.
“The Shiite is a Nasl [Race/Offspring] of Jews.” 
“When the Jews are wiped out, the world would be purified and the sun of peace would rise on the entire world.” 

Of course, none of these comments insults a religion.