Third World Quarterly 141 common were local peace committees, formed by religious leaders from the area or established on the initiative of an outside organisation. In Mandalay and Meiktila, Myanmar, civil society and political figures locally formed peacekeeping committees after incidents of violence, to respond to rumors and prevent new violence. Often, prominent Buddhist monks are called on to mediate in conflicts. People may also turn to the monasteries for protection or conflict resolution when the police fail to act. One monk in Meiktila is known to have saved hundreds of Muslims during violence which killed over 40 persons there in 2013, while monks in Sri Lanka mobilised people to protect mosques against attacks during the upsurge of violence in 2018 (Watson and Maung 2015; BBC 2018; interviews 19; 20; 40). In some cases, mediation takes place through established organisations such as the Congress of Religions in Sri Lanka, while other times it is done through informal networks locally (interviews 2; 7; 11; 22; Haniffa 2016b). The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka has frequently written public letters, but also communicated directly, to urge the government and police to curtail anti-Muslim agitation and violence (eg Colombo Telegraph 2016; interviews 6; 8). Spreading information and challenging the divisive discourse is done in preaching by religious leaders, and through art exhibitions, publications and training (interviews 9; 15; 21; 24; 25; 33). For instance, in Sri Lanka, Sarvodaya Shanthi Sena distributed a children’s book with stories from different religions, while the International Center for Ethnic Studies produced films and cartoon exhibitions on inter-religious coexistence (interviews 9; 15; observations 2016). Much of the mobilisation and hate speech by Buddhist nationalist groups is spread through social media, as will be further discussed below. Some Buddhist monks have countered this propaganda with their own posts and videos about Buddhism as tolerant and non-violent (interviews 18; 37). Other groups monitor hate speech or strategically use counter-messaging against it (interviews 2; 30; 39). A limited number of public protests against hatred and for coexistence have taken place. In Sri Lanka in April 2013, Buddhists Questioning Bodu Bala Sena organised a vigil. Rally for Unity arranged demonstrations drawing about 500 participants in Colombo, followed by smaller rallies elsewhere (interview 10; Wickrematunge 2013). In Yangon, a few young activists staged a rally in April 2016, protesting against extreme nationalism and discrimination against religious minorities (Naing Soe 2016). In Myanmar in May 2019, after nationalist Buddhist monks had forced Muslim prayer sites to close, interfaith activists launched the White Roses Campaign. As a sign of solidarity, people from all religions and in different parts of the country gathered to hand white roses to Muslims as they came out from their Mosques (Zaw 2019). These are rare exceptions, however, to the general lack of public demonstrations against hateful Buddhist nationalism. Movement–countermovement dynamics The movements opposing Buddhist nationalist agitation in Myanmar and Sri Lanka hence consist of a broad range of actors, who share concerns about violence, hate speech and Buddhist–Muslim divides. It is not a clear case of one original and one reactive movement, as both movements have historical roots. Some peace and human rights groups which had been formed in response to the civil war(s) redirected their attention to the Buddhist–Muslim tensions, while new organisations and constellations of involved persons emerged in response to the Buddhist nationalist mobilisation. The peace movement was hence triggered by the success of the Buddhist nationalist mobilisation, and the felt need to counteract its