Political parties proved largely irrelevant to the popular uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Now, parties must translate revolutionary demands into concrete political agendas. Other challenges for political party development in the Arab world include building organisational capacities, forging a distinct message, developing grassroots constituencies, and, most importantly, winning citizens’ trust. The Islamists’ electoral success can be ascribed to the combined effect of their grassroots connection, their charity work, opposition image, their privileged funding situation, and the appeal of their faith-based political message. The dominance of Islamist parties is therefore not necessarily a sign of mass faith-based ideology, but also highlights the lack of credible and efficient liberal alternatives. Reinventing Arab party politics will only be possible for parties within a political and legal system in which democratic elections give party representatives access to the core of power.