The paper will examine the life and thought of Muh?ammad Sur?r Zayn al-??bid?n, the Syrian ideologue and founder of an Islamist trend. In the highly politicalized Saudi Islamist scene of the early 1970s, Sur?r came up with a unique synthesis, an amalgam of the political consciousness of the Muslim Brotherhood in seeking political reform and the implementation of an Islamic order and the rigorous religious thought of Wahh?b?s. Under the influence of Sur?r's ideas, a new group, al-Sur?riyya the main group within the ?a?wa movement, appeared which had a significant impact on Saudi Islamic activism. In nature, the Salafi and Wahh?b? movements were largely apolitical and purist and focused more especially on scholarly and religious issues. As a former member of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, Sur?r brought a h?arak? (politicalized) orientation to the quietest Saudi context which became a phenomenon that needs to examine. Sur?r positioned himself and his followers as free centrist Salafis and distinguished himself from two types of Salafis who he called the “?izb al-Ghul?t” (radicals) and the “?izb al-Wul?t” (loyalists). On one hand, Sur?r rejected the violent approach of the radicals in pursuing their goals, but he also condemned the loyalists who called for total obedience for the rulers. The Gulf crisis and the first protests against the Saudi government in the 1990s reignited the old discussion about the validation of the Salafis to participate in politics. The debate between Sur?r, who advocated non-violent political activism, and “?izb al-Wul?t,” who adopted a quietist posture, sheds light on the ongoing discussion about the question of political engagement among Salafis. This paper is based mainly on the primary sources: Sur?r's own corpus of political and religious writings, journalistic work, and memoirs and a series of seven recorded television interviews with Sur?r as well as writings of other Salafis, especially his opponents.