In 726 a. d., byzantine emperor leo iii banned the use of icons, or religious images. this became a controversial issue because not all byzantines agreed with the ban. this was one of several controversies that contributed to the a. weakening of the church and the rise of islam within the byzantine empire. b. byzantine empire's creation of the separation of church and state. c. banning of the practice of any religion other than christianity in the empire. d. split between the roman catholic church and the eastern orthodox church.

I believe that the answer is D.

A - The controversy over religious images (iconicism?) wasn't one of the causes that led to Islam within the Byzantine empire.
B - The Byzantine empire's government was directly tied to their church, and so the banning of religious depictions was supported by the state as well as the church.
C - Because of its location, the Byzantine empire was influenced by a lot of different religions, and, while Christians were the most favored by the government, other religions were mostly tolerated within the empire.

The answer is metaphase