Mark J. Sedgwick (born 20 July 1960) is a British historian of Islam. He is Full Professor of Arab and Islamic Studies at Aarhus University in Denmark. Sedgwick is notable for pioneering historical research into the religious movement called Traditionalism.
Sedgwick's earliest research was on Sufism in the Arab and Muslim world.[8] He is best known for his work on Sufism and Traditionalism, especially for his Against the Modern World: Traditionalism and the Secret Intellectual History of the Twentieth Century (2004). He is also known for his work on terrorism, especially for his 2004 article "Al-Qaeda and the nature of religious terrorism" in which he argues for understanding the terrorism of Al-Qaeda should be understood in political rather than religious terms.[9] He is a critic of the concept of radicalisation, which he argues is a "source of confusion."[10] Despite his association with the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism, he has argued that understanding Western esotericism as distinctly Western may no longer be appropriate.[8]
Controversy
Sedgwick has been accused of "an undisclosed personal history with Traditionalism" and, therefore, of having "a personal and undisclosed bias against Traditionalism".[11] He has also been accused of being a secret Traditionalist Sufi and part of a conspiracy against Enlightenment values.[12][need quotation to verify] He has pointed out that both charges can hardly be true at the same time and explained that his personal history with Traditionalism was early and limited. He claims this did not result in any bias one way or the other.[2]
Works
Single author
Sufism: The Essentials. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2000.
Against the Modern World: Traditionalism and the Secret Intellectual History of the Twentieth Century. Oxford University Press, 2004.
"Al-Qaeda and the Nature of Religious Terrorism" Terrorism and Political Violence 2004
Saints and Sons: The Making and Remaking of the Rashidi Ahmadi Sufi Order, 1799–2000. Brill, 2005.
Islam and Muslims: A Guide to Diverse Experience in a Modern World. Boston: Intercultural Press, 2006.
Muhammad Abduh. Oxford: Oneworld, 2009.
“The Concept of Radicalization as a Source of Confusion.” Terrorism and Political Violence 2010
Western Sufism: From the Abbasids to the New Age. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016.
Traditionalism: The Radical Project for Restoring Sacred Order. New York: Oxford University Press, 2023.
New Religious Movements in Islam. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2026.
Edited works
Islamic Myths and Memories: Mediators of Globalization. Editor, with Ulrika Mårtensson and Itzchak Weismann. Farnham: Ashgate Press, 2014.
Making European Muslims: Religious Socialization among Young Muslims in Scandinavia and Western Europe. Editor. New York: Routledge, 2014.
Key Thinkers of the Radical Right: Behind the New Threat to Liberal Democracy. Editor. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019.
Global Sufism: Boundaries, Structures, and Politics. Editor, with Francesco Piraino. London: Hurst, 2019.
Esoteric Transfers and Constructions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Editor, with Francesco Piraino. New York: Palgrave, 2021.
Anarchist, Artist, Sufi: The Politics, Painting, and Esotericism of Ivan Aguéli. Editor. London: Bloomsbury, 2021.
↑Sedgwick, Mark (1 January 2004). "Al-Qaeda and the Nature of Religious Terrorism". Terrorism and Political Violence. 16 (4): 795–814. doi:10.1080/09546550590906098. ISSN0954-6553.
↑Sedgwick, Mark (14 September 2010). "The Concept of Radicalization as a Source of Confusion". Terrorism and Political Violence. 22 (4): 479–494. doi:10.1080/09546553.2010.491009. ISSN0954-6553.
