In the course of 2010 and 2011, popular protests engulfed many countries in the Middle East, North Africa and the Arab Peninsula. Dissatisfaction with widespread corruption, staggering inequality, state repression and the overall functioning of local governments brought millions into the streets demanding change. This led some commentators to think that a major democratisation process was about to take place in the Arab world, which was to go down in the history books as the ‘Arab Spring’. But although the protests brought about significant changes in the region – many of its dictators were ousted, many times in favour of political Islamist parties – the promise of democratic reform has not materialised everywhere. While in Tunisia, fragile roots of democracy seem to have taken a hold, in Egypt the military has reinstituted itself as the dominant force after the short-lived rule of the Muslim Brotherhood left millions in the country so disappointed they returned to the streets. While the origins of political Islam go back hundreds of years, it was the Arab Spring that drew attention to it, leaving many with a feeling of disappointment, and casting doubts over political Islam’s compatibility with democracy. At this Policy Dialogue, a distinguished panel of journalists, academics, diplomats and policy makers discussed political Islam in all its different forms, and provided some insight into how it may evolve in the Middle East and other regions in the years to come.