Engaging non-Muslim Mongols made Franciscans abandon martyrdom-seeking for debate

Evidence

These missions represent an important change of strategy: none of these Franciscans, it seems, is keen on getting martyred. William of Rubruck, in particular, seeks to convert various Mongol rulers to Christianity not by insulting the Mongols’ religious traditions but by engaging in debate with the adherents of rival religions. In discovering a world beyond the world of Islam, Muslim-Christian confrontation seems less crucial; indeed, the similarities of the two religions become all the more important when confronted by Mongol polytheism. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1127