Myanmar nationalist monks stage large rally as religious tensions grow

Members and supporters of Ma Ba Tha line up at the entrance to attend a celebration of the recent establishment of four controversial bills decried by rights groups as aimed at discriminating against the country's Muslim minority, at a rally in a stadium at Yangon October 4, 2015. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

YANGON (Reuters) - Thousands of Myanmar's nationalist monks and their supporters prayed, clapped and held speeches at a large rally in the country's biggest city on Sunday, in a show of growing clout of radical Buddhists ahead of a Nov. 8 election.

Religious tensions are running high in Myanmar ahead of the parliamentary poll billed as the country's first free and fair election in 25 years, largely stoked by the Ma Ba Tha, an organisation led by the hardline monks who called the rally.