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84Islam, Democracy and Human Rights in Contemporary IndonesiaNatsir appealed for Muslim activists to intensify dakwah,educational and social activities. In a metaphorical phrase, hesaw Christian and Islamic missionaries, especially in education,as being like %u201can express train competing with a caravan horse%u201d,because the former worked with an international network andwas supported by the government, while the latter ran on itsown capacity. Natsir%u2019s writings about Christian missionaries andIslamic dakwah were then published as a book entitled Islamdan Kristen di Indonesia (Christianity and Islam in Indonesia),which was reprinted several times and distributed in thecommunity.His opinions about Christian missionaries did not changeall his life. He was well-informed that Christianity, as with Islam,is a missionary religion, which means that the adherents of thisreligion have to disseminate the teachings of their religion to allpeople in the world. However, the adherents of different religionsalso have the right to defend their faith from %u201cintervention%u201d byother religious adherents. He believed that Indonesian Muslimswere still in a weak position after experiencing colonialism for along period. The independence of Indonesia had not yetimproved the social and economic status of Indonesian Muslims,who constituted the majority of the population. Therefore, Natsirrejected the Christianization process, which was being evasiveabout social, educational, health and economic improvement,which was supported by missionary wealth accumulated duringthe time of colonialism and by abundant aid from Christiansocieties in the West.Moreover, the striking activities of Christian missionariesin Muslim communities might turn out to be a threat to nationalunity. Therefore, according to Natsir, if there were assassinations