According to scholars, the practice of devishirme was a clear violation of sharia or Islamic law. David Nicolle writes that since the boys were "effectively enslaved" under the devshirme system, this was a violation of the dhimmi protections guaranteed under Islamic law to People of the Book. The practice of devshirme also involved forced conversion to Islam, which is also contrary to Islamic law. This is disputed by Turkish historian Halil İnalcık, who argues that the devshirme were not slaves once converted to Islam.