2 Matthew J. Walton and Susan Hayward inimical to Burmese values (focusing particularly on the treatment of women), inherently violent, and driven by an agenda to take over the country, region, and globe. Many people within and outside the Buddhist community are puzzled by these arguments supporting antiMuslim violence, as on the surface they seem antithetical to Buddhist teachings and ethics. 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. Next, the paper offers elements of a constructive counterargument within a Theravada Buddhist framework that might be employed to challenge the rhetoric of the 969 movement and MaBaTha. The proposed counterargument draws from Buddhist teaching and texts, as well as other notions common in Burmese Buddhist culture. The hope is that some of these might be persuasive to Buddhists in Myanmar and useful for those seeking to develop or amplify more tolerant Buddhist attitudes and behaviors toward other groups in the current insecure and rapidly changing environment. The paper also presents several complementary policy prescriptions designed to respond to the underlying socioeconomic insecurities and political impediments, which are seen as root causes of the present conflict. The Current Context After almost five decades of international isolation and repressive rule by a succession of military governments, Myanmar began a gradual transition to democracy with the handover of power to a quasi-civilian government in March 2011. Defying admittedly muted expectations, President Thein Sein, a former military general elected by the military-dominated parliament in early January 2011, initiated a series of reforms that have opened up space for political participation and