At the same time, conversion of the neophytes of the Ruling Institution seems not ordinarily to have been forcible.[170] The Ottomans were too wise to believe that the best results could be accomplished by such means. Their policy was rather to throw every difficulty in the way of remaining a Christian, and to offer every inducement to make the Moslem faith and system seem attractive. To this end their educational scheme helped greatly;[171] for it involved complete isolation from Christian ideas of every sort, and complete saturation in all the ideas of Mohammedanism, religious, moral, social, and political. Even those whose education was mainly physical were isolated from Christians in a strict Moslem environment. No doubt there were special rejoicings and rewards when a _kul_ was ready to declare, “There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is His Prophet,” as there were in like circumstances in the rest of the Ottoman world.[172] But the _kullar_ seem not to have been urged to change their faith; on the contrary, an attitude of apparent indifference was sometimes taken with them.[173] Probably, however, few who remained long in the system failed to surrender sooner or later. Prejudices of child-hood would in time be overcome; what the majority did would tend to act powerfully upon the individual; the reward of a brilliant career would take clearer and more alluring shape, until in time, in the absence of all contrary suggestion, the real truth and value of the Mohammedan religion would make it appear to be the only worthy system. It is not surprising that the scheme seemed to Christians one of diabolical ingenuity. What went on in the sultan’s slave-family in regard to the conversion of slaves went on in every Mohammedan household. Conversion was desired but not compelled, and reward awaited it.[174] Among female slaves also, even in the imperial harem, the same process was employed. Not merely the imperial slave-family, but the entire system of slavery that existed in the Ottoman Empire, was thus a great machine for the conversion of Christians into Turks. SINCERITY OF CONVERSION