Bodu Bala Sena och den buddhistiska nationalismen

Islamofobi och kampen om Sri Lanka

Abstract

This article examines the Sri Lankan Buddhist nationalist organization Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), focusing on how anti-Muslim rhetoric is inter-twined with broader projects of nationalism, religion, and identity formation. Drawing on digital material published by BBS, including articles, statements, and visual content, the study analyses how Muslims are portrayed as religious, cultural, demographic, and political threats to Buddhism and the Sri Lankan nation.

The article argues that BBS’s discourse cannot be understood solely as an expression of Islamophobia, but must also be situated within longer historical traditions of Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism, shaped by colonial experiences, postcolonial tensions, and narratives of Buddhist protec-tionism. By engaging theoretical perspectives on religion and nationalism, particularly Bruce Lincoln’s work, alongside recent scholarship on Bud-dhist Islamophobia, the study demonstrates how BBS combines locally rooted historical narratives with transnational discourses concerning
Islam, security, and civilizational conflict.

The analysis suggests that anti-Muslim rhetoric contributes to linking Buddhism, ethnicity, and national belonging in ways that reinforce exclusionary nationalist narratives. In this context, BBS portrays itself not only as a defender of religion, but also as a protector of the nation and its perceived continuity.