Contesting Buddhist Narratives 27 dhamma. This gray area of “traditional monastic duties” also allows for a wide range of interpretation of appropriate actions. In response to the ban on 969 organizations, one monk replied: “We don’t take part in political affairs, steal others’ possessions, attack or lie to others. So you cannot say we violate the ethics of a Buddhist monk. We just make our special efforts in order to preserve our race and religion” (May Sitt Paing 2013). Monks have used this interpretive space throughout Buddhist history to justify various methods of political engagement, and it will remain an important aspect of religious life in Myanmar, especially if space continues to open up for political organizing more generally. There are ways, then, in which these movements can be seen as an expression of the impulse to strengthen and sustain Buddhist practice in Myanmar. This does not excuse the violence that has been carried out either in the name of protecting Buddhism or indirectly as a result of 969 or MaBaTha sermons and literature, but it does help to explain why the groups appear to have such widespread support among BurSupport for 969 and MaBaTha mese Buddhists. It also suggests (although significantly more research might be driven by a desire to would be required to demonstrate propagate Buddhism, rather this) that a good deal of the monetary support for 969 and MaBaTha than vilify Muslims activities might come from committed Buddhists whose interests lie in the propagation of the religion, rather than the vilification of Muslims. One element is not easily separated from the other, either conceptually or, in the case of exceedingly opaque religious organizations, fiscally. The following section explores further the rhetoric and framing that allow Buddhists who support the movement to distance themselves from responsibility for the destructive acts associated with it. Denying Responsibility for Violence As discussed above, the monks and laypeople involved with the 969 movement consistently deny any responsibility for the violence that has been carried out in its name or in connection with its anti-Muslim propaganda. They insist that the movement’s purpose is merely to defend Buddhism, and attribute any related evidence (such as the fact that “969” was found spray-painted on the walls of destroyed buildings in