969 Movement
The 969 Movement is a violent nationalist movement in Burma and yet another religious excuse for attacking people who are different. In this case, it is the Buddhist majority who don't like the existence of a small minority (somewhere between 5 to 10%) of Muslims, which they see as an Islamic expansion into "their" country.
They primarily hold nationalist demonstrations, but they are also believed to be connected to the many violent attacks on Muslims, Muslim-owned businesses, and Muslim communities that we have seen in Burma in recent years. Their leader is a Buddhist monk named Ashin Wirathu.
[edit] The name
The "969" is a Buddhist symbol signifying the Three Jewels of Buddhism- the nine virtues of Buddha, the six virtues of his Dharma, and the nine virtues of Buddhist monks. As the movement sees it, 969 is supposed to be the cosmological opposite of 786, an Islamic symbol; 969ers, noticing 7+8+6 = 21, think 786 is a secret message that Muslims intend to conquer Burma in the 21st century. Never mind the fact that Islam has its own calendar, and the Islamic 21st century won't begin for another 700 years.
[edit] See also
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