Caricature of Islam failed to stop apostasy and forced direct polemic.

Evidence

As a strategy for stemming the tide of apostasy, the crude caricatures of the Pseudo-Methodius were singularly ineffective: the tide of conversion to Islam continued to rise. Clearly a closer look at the spiritual adversary was needed. While writers of apocalypses continued to fan the flames of hope down the centuries, other writers confronted Islamic doctrine directly and attempted to refute it. Their texts in theory fall into the categories of apologetics (defenses of Christianity) and polemics (attacks on Islam), though in practice the two broadly overlap. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 337