This is a study that with critical eyes, studies schoolbooks that are meant for upper secondary school in the curriculum – Religion. I am studying how schoolbook authors portray Islam and its practitioners. Is there possibly any tendency towards orientalism to be found in them? Hopefully, none or very little. There are earlier studies that show how Muslims are portrayed as “the other”, the lesser, while Christians are portrayed as “we”, the normal. To be able to do this study I am using qualitative content analysis as a method. That way it is possible to systematically work through a larger text and cut it down to smaller themes. How are the authors portraying God? How is Islam´s view of man presented versus the Christian view of man? Finally, in what way has the representation of Islam changed over time?By using Edward Said’s theory of orientalism, I have been able to get the following result. It shows that the presentation of Islam and Christianity is still othering Islam and its practitioners, but differs on how easy you as a reader can see it. By using the theory of religious literacy, I have been able to identify how the author uses his/her language, if the author thought of conveying a deeper explanation and not just focus on small factual parts.

It is important that the authors of textbooks for religious studies think about how they express themselves. They could easily be misunderstood, or they could unknowingly create truths they themselves may not stand for. This study focuses on how authors express themselves when they write about Muslims, what is expected of them, the authors, when they are governed by the syllabus. Several previous studies show tendencies of othering/second-rate of Muslims in teaching materials for religious studies. These previous studies point to a problem, that the authors should avoid othering of Muslims. What my study shows is that there are traces of othering of Muslims as practitioners of Islam, if you do not include other aspects, like for whom is “this” textbook produced for. I highlighted the requirements of the syllabus and placed the textbooks for religious studies in a larger context, which led to the othering being erased. The study shows that the authors do not second-rate Muslims in the teaching materials. Instead of second-rate Muslims, the authors problematize different traditions and rituals within Islam in the material. Admittedly, some traditions and rituals violate the norms we have in Sweden and the western Christian world, but most Muslims do not agree with the conservative and sometimes violent interpretations that we hear through the media, among other things. The teaching materials meet the requirements of the syllabus Religious Knowledge by pointing to a diversity within the religions. And creates understanding that Muslims are not a homogeneous group that act and think alike.