My horror at this destruction of ancient things puts me in touch with the degree to which "culture" is a sacred category to me (as I know it is for many others, as well). These cultural artifacts connect me with the mystery that our existence retains, the wondering of our ancestors, and my wonder about our ancestors. They are religious to me, whether or not they are explicitly religious in themselves. ISIS's destruction of them shocks me as an exaggerated and distorted example of our dumb tendency as a species to reduce mystery to a single-line answer. The single answer is an idol--despite the fact it is offered as the destroyer of idols--except to the extent it as big and mysterious as nature and humanity itself, and embraces them both as indispensable, irreplaceable, and precious.

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/03/isis-destroys-ancient-art.html