This paper starts with a brief sociohistorical account of the current interreligious tensions in Myanmar, putting them in the context of the rapid political, economic, and social changes the country has undergone since 2011, when President Thein Sein launched a dramatic democratic reform process. It then analyzes the narratives of the 969
movement and MaBaTha that emerge from sermons, statements, and publications. It considers how their arguments are connected to particular ideas that circulate within Myanmar’s Theravada Buddhist tradition and posit what lies “behind” the narratives: the concerns, fears,interests, or needs.