The events of the Arab Spring have spawned a vast amount of commentary and analysis by Muslim intellectuals. One of the most prominent contributors to these discussions is the distinguished Moroccan philosopher Taha ‘Abd al-Rahman, a figure renowned for his efforts to renovate classical Islamic mysticism in response to the challenges of modernity. ‘Abd al-Rahman sets forth his views in a 500-page work published in 2012 entitled “The Spirit of Religion: From the Narrowness of Secularism to the Spaciousness of Fidelity” (Ruh al-Din: Min Diq al-‘Almaniyya ila Sa’at al-I’timaniyya). Although ‘Abd al-Rahman has Islamist sympathies, his text offers a critique of conventional Islamist politics as well as secularist ideologies. This presentation will offer the first analysis of ‘Abd al-Rahman’s recent text, comparing and contrasting his views with that of other Islamist writings on politics, religion, and secularism. In analyzing ‘Abd al-Rahman’s text, special attention will be given to the manner in which he critiques the currents that presently dominate political life in the Arab World. ‘Abd al-Rahman criticizes secularists for attempting to separate politics and religion. At the same time he also criticizes conventional Islamist movements for confusing politics and the pursuit of power with religion. For ‘Abd al-Rahman, it is necessary to forge an alternative perspective that avoids both of these errors. In his view, a perspective of this kind will pave the way for transcending the secularist-Islamist deadlock that lies at the center of political struggles in the Arab World. ‘Abd al-Rahman’s text introduces such an alternative perspective, which he refers to as the “fidelity thesis”. The proposed presentation will explain what the fidelity thesis is and elucidate why ‘Abd al-Rahman believes it provides a way of transcending the errors characteristic of existing secularist and Islamist political movements. The presentation will also address how ‘Abd al-Rahman relates the fidelity thesis to the specific challenges associated with the Arab Spring. By providing a critical analysis of ‘Abd al-Rahman’s ideas, this presentation will provide insight into the ongoing evolution of Islamist thought in relationship to secular political ideologies in the contemporary Arab and Muslim worlds.