About the School
Mark Sedgwick
Professor
School of Culture and Society - Arab and Islamic Studies, subject
Jens Chr. Skous Vej 3
building 1451, 522
8000 Aarhus C
Denmark
Phone: +4587162657
My research focuses on junctions for the transfer of religions and traditions in the late pre-modern and modern periods. My two most recent books are collections, Anarchist, Artist, Sufi: The Politics, Painting, and Esotericism of Ivan Aguéli (Bloomsbury, 2021) and Esoteric Transfers and Constructions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (with Francesco Piraino; Palgrave, 2021). A monograph, Traditionalism: The Radical Project for Restoring Sacred Order (Penguin) is due out in 2023.
In addition,
- on the Islamic side, I have published a biography of Muhammad Abduh (2009), as well as two books on Sufism: Saints and Sons (2005), dealing with the history of a group of Sufi orders, and Sufism: The Essentials (first published in 2000, and now reprinted and translated into several languages). An introduction to Islam with a difference--Islam and Muslims--came out in 2006. I have also published various articles on sectarianism, religious change, and terrorism, such as "The concept of radicalization as a source of confusion" (in Terrorism and Political Violence, 2010).
- on the Western side, my most recent book is an edited collection, Key Thinkers of the Radical Right: Behind the New Threat to Liberal Democracy (2019), and my most recent mongraph is Western Sufism: From the Abbasids to the New Age (2016). I have also published a collected volume on Making European Muslims: Religious Socialization Among Young Muslims in Scandinavia and Western Europe (2014), which was one outcome of a collective project I ran on Islam, Muslims and Danish Schools, and on Guénonian Traditionalism, an anti-modernist movement which takes political as well as religious and philosophical forms, and has recently spread to the Islamic world and Russia. This project resulted in a book, Against the Modern World (2004), an active blog, a website that is no longer updated (traditionalists.org), and a number of articles. Against the Modern World has now been translated into French, German, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Serbian, and Turkish.
- My current major project is an EU-funded project, DRIVE: Resisting Radicalisation Through Inclusion, with partners from five other European universities.
I am coordinator of the Arab and Islamic Studies Research Network (ICSRU) at Aarhus University. I am also convenor of the European Network for the Study of Islam and Esotericism and chair of the Nordic Society for Middle Eastern Studies.
Teaching
For courses, see "Further information."
Research areas
- Religion and Theology > Religion > Islam Sufism Islamism Islam and Muslims in Europe Modernization and reform
- Religion and Theology > Religion > Mysticism and spirituality Sufism Traditionalism
- Religion and Theology > Religion > Religious movements Typology New religious movements Neo-Sufism
- Countries and Regions > Middle East > Middle East in general Arab world Iran Turkey Israel
- Countries and Regions > Europe > Europe in general Islam in Europe Neo-Sufism
- Countries and Regions > Africa > Africa in general Sudan
- Countries and Regions > Asia > Other countries Malaysia Singapore
- History and Archaeology > Modern History, World > Cultural history Religiosity Neo-Sufism
- History and Archaeology > Contemporary World > Meeting of cultures Islam and the West
- Society and Politics > Attitudes and Politics > Religion and politics Islam Eurasianism
- Society and Politics > International Affairs > Security Islamism Middle East Religion and terrorism
- Published
Western Sufism: From the Abbasids to the New Age
Sedgwick, M., 2016, New York: Oxford University Press. 368 p.Research output: Book/anthology/dissertation/report › Book › Research › peer-review
- Published
Islamforskning på Aarhus Universitet: (snart) ti år med ICSRU
Fibiger, T. B. & Sedgwick, M., Nov 2016, In: Tidsskrift for Islamforskning. 10, 1, p. 63-73 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Communication
Jihadism, Narrow and Wide: The Dangers of Loose Use of an Important Term
Sedgwick, M., Apr 2015, In: Perspectives on Terrorism. 9, 2, p. 34-41 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review
- Published
The Making of a Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century: Shaykh Ahmad al-‘Alawî (1869-1934)
Sedgwick, M., 2015, In: Journal of the history of Sufism / Tasavvuf tarihi araştırmaları dergisi / Journal d'histoire du Soufisme. 6, p. 225-240 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review
- Published
Sufis as ‘Good Muslims’: Sufism in the Battle against Jihadi Salafism
Sedgwick, M., 2015, Sufis and Salafis in the Contemporary Age. Ridgeon, L. (ed.). London: Bloomsbury Academic, p. 105-17 14 p.Research output: Contribution to book/anthology/report/proceeding › Book chapter › Research › peer-review
- Published
Islamic Myths and Memories: Mediators of Globalization
Weismann, I. (ed.), Sedgwick, M. (ed.) & Mårtensson, U. (ed.), 2014, Farnham: Ashgate. 263 p.Research output: Book/anthology/dissertation/report › Anthology › Research › peer-review
- Published
Making European Muslims: Religious Socialization Among Young Muslims in Scandinavia and Western Europe
Sedgwick, M. (ed.), 2014, New York: Routledge. 296 p.Research output: Book/anthology/dissertation/report › Anthology › Research › peer-review
- Published
Something Varied in the State of Denmark: Neo-nationalism, Anti-Islamic Activism, and Street-level Thuggery
Sedgwick, M., 21 Jun 2013, In: Politics, Religion & Ideology. 14, 2, p. 208-33 27 p.Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review
- Published
Neo-Sufism
Sedgwick, M., 2012, The Cambridge Companion to New Religious Movements. Hammer, O. & Rothstein, M. (eds.). Cambridge University Press, p. 198-214 16 p. (Cambridge Companions to Religion).Research output: Contribution to book/anthology/report/proceeding › Book chapter › Research › peer-review
- Published
The Concept of Radicalization as a Source of Confusion
Sedgwick, M., 2010, In: Terrorism and Political Violence. 22, 4, p. 479-494 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review
- Published
Muhammad Abduh
Sedgwick, M., 2009, Oxford: Oneworld Publications. 152 p. (Makers of the Muslim World).Research output: Book/anthology/dissertation/report › Book › Research
- Published
Islam and Muslims: A Guide to Diverse Experience in a Modern World
Sedgwick, M., 2006, Boston: Intercultural Press. 276 p.Research output: Book/anthology/dissertation/report › Book › Communication
- Published
Saints and Sons: The Making and Remaking of the Rashidi Ahmadi Sufi Order, 1799-2000
Sedgwick, M., 2005, Leiden: Brill. 255 p.Research output: Book/anthology/dissertation/report › Book › Research
- Published
Al-Qaeda and the Nature of Religious Terrorism
Sedgwick, M., 2004, In: Terrorism and Political Violence. 16, p. 795-814 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review
- Published
Against the Modern World: Traditionalism and the Secret Intellectual History of the Twentieth Century
Sedgwick, M., 2004, New York: Oxford University Press. 384 p.Research output: Book/anthology/dissertation/report › Book › Research
- Published
Sufism: The Essentials
Sedgwick, M., 2000, Cairo: AUC Press. 132 p.Research output: Book/anthology/dissertation/report › Book › Communication
Modern Muslim Subjectivities Project
Sedgwick, M., Jung, D., Hatem, M. & Mex-Jørgensen, L.
01/10/2013 → 01/10/2016
Project: Research
SATS: Sufism and Transnational Spirituality
Bubandt, N. O., Sedgwick, M., Louw, M. E., Rytter, M. & Mathiesen, K.
01/08/2010 → 31/12/2014
Project: Research
Islam, Muslims and Danish Schools
Sedgwick, M., Anderson, S. D., Kühle, L., Gilliam, L., Pedersen, M. H., Khawaja, I., Jensen, S. V. & Suhr, C.
01/06/2009 → 01/01/2014
Project: Research
Traditionalists: A Blog for the study of Traditionalism and the Traditionalists (Journal)
Mark Sedgwick (Editor)
1 Jun 2006 → …Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Editor of Research journal › Communication
Nordic Society for Middle East Studies (External organisation)
Mark Sedgwick (Member)
24 Sep 2016 → …Activity: Membership types › Membership in board of company or public organisation
Carsten Niebuhr Prize
Prize: Prizes, scholarships, distinctions
Thomas Robbins Award for Excellence in the Study of New Religious Movements
Prize: Prizes, scholarships, distinctions
ID: 6876485