ABSTRACT
In times of peace, forced conversions were rare and took place at times of great tension between the faithful of the two religions, such as those that occurred in the Near East at the beginning of the eleventh century under the Caliph of Cairo, Al-H·¯akim, a ruler known for having persecuted his co-religionists as well. There were various motives unrelated to religious beliefs that led people to adopt the faith of the ruler. The first advantage was undoubtedly not to be considered a second-class subject anymore. This, first of all, allowed the neo-converts to maintain or improve their social and economic status. A strong motivation for adhering to the rulers’ faith was the desire to escape the condition of slaves or prisoners. Christian women who had been captured by Muslim pirates and managed to return to Christian land in early modern times reported that they had become Muslims by marrying Islam’s faithful only to avoid remaining slaves.
