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Religious icons do not serve the faithful as much as they do the religious elite. The Islamic religion has their icons, such as the Ka'bah, what they call the Holy Black Stone, just as the Christians revere the symbol of Christ on the Cross. When symbolism is asked to stand in the stead of real thoughts and feelings, real connection to the current reality, enslavement of humans can occur. We are not speaking here of enslavement as in bondage, with restraints and physical abuse. We are speaking here of intellectual and emotional bondage, where the thoughts and feelings are tied up in a regimented manner. One is to look at the icon and be overcome with a particular emotion, without question. To do otherwise brings frowns and suspicion down on a human. Have they lost their faith? All this serves the religious elite, as where the thoughts and feelings are busy with obligations, there can be little room for insights and rebellion.