"Divisive groups have taken advantage of Myanmar’s much lauded new political and media freedoms to pursue an agenda that will limit the civil and political rights of the country’s Muslim population. This article examines how extremist groups such as the Ma Ba Tha have exploited these new political and media freedoms and analyses the policy agenda they have pursued. The article argues that the enforcement of the four Protection of Race and Religion Laws will disadvantage Myanmar’s already politically marginalized Muslim residents by creating a de facto religious test for full Myanmar citizenship rights. Despite considerable evidence that Myanmar’s democratization process has stalled (Anguelov 2015; Eck 2013; Irrawaddy 2014; Kingsbury 2015; Sifton 2014), the country has nonetheless liberalized more during the last five years than throughout the previous five decades of direct military rule (Hlaing 2012; Renshaw 2013; Ware 2012; Zin and Joseph 2012). This article examines the freedoms that have accrued to Myanmar’s residents since the country’s 2010 national elections began a transition to a notionally civilian administration. It will briefly describe the nature of these freedoms and the opportunities they have provided for the country’s long-suppressed pro-democracy groups to organize and engage with the political process. However, the darker consequences of these freedoms will be addressed as well. It will be shown that increased freedoms to express political opinions, combined with a growing, less censored media landscape and ready access to the Internet and mobile phones, have provided opportunities for divisive voices to enflame religious and ethnic tensions and promote discriminatory policies, often to the detriment of Myanmar’s Muslim population (Freedom House 2013; Holland 2014; Trautwein 2015)..."