It's important to note that a large portion of verses in the Quran were revealed to the Prophet in response to a particular event that took place during his lifetime. Tafsir (exegesis) is the subfield of Islamic science that deals with figuring out the context of a particular verse.
[1] Explanation of that verse (5:33): http://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=2&tTafsirNo=73&t...
Also, the mainstream consensus changes over time - there has been a fairly long period, for example, during which the Sword Verse was interpreted to imply that the Caliph does have the authority (and in some madhabs, the obligation) to wage offensive war against unbelievers:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_of_Islamic_scholars_on...
Had Al-Ghazali been less successful in his reactionary unwinding of the Islamic world's enlightenment, we'd probably be having a very different conversation now.
Also, it's a bit rich to compare a nonexistent flag burning ban (which would punish with fines or jail) to Pakistan's very-much-existent blasphemy laws (which execute people).
1. http://www.gallup.com/poll/23524/public-support-constitution...
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy_law
... And more specifically:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_and_blasphemy
Blasphemy is punishable in the vast majority of Islamic countries. Most Muslims worldwide support these laws, and most schools of Islamic jurisprudence support their position in Islamic law.
It's probably not true of most Muslims in Western countries however. I have a sneaking suspicion - but no way of proving it - that people who think this sort of thing is nuts are more likely to want to emigrate to countries without it.
Note that blasphemy is also punishable in many Western countries. This is driven by the same problem: religion. Usually Christianity.