Kalifat, korståg och turkar
En studie av synen på medeltida muslimer i svenska läroböcker för gymnasiet, 1954-2012.
I have in this essay focused on the attitude towards the medieval muslims in swedish textbooks, in the subject of history from the years between 1954 and 2012. I have made an analysis on the discourse in the books and what they says about the muslims who lived before 1500 AD. The theory I have is a Postcolonial one from the authors Edward Said, Ania Loomba and Leela Gandhi. I have also analyzed the rhetorics the authors have used in every textbook. The results I have identified is that the attitude towards the muslims have changed during the years, from a generalizing view that says that the muslims were driven by the religion and that they were different from the Christian European society that existed during the same time. During the years the attitude changed to be more objective and don´t focus so much on the religion as a power over the will of the people and more towards economic and political reasons for the expansion during the 7th and 8th century. The religious tolerance towards Jews and Christians during the islamic reign in the Middle East is presented and is mentioned in most of the books during all of the decades. My conclusions according to the theory is that the change in the attitude can be a result of a higher level of knowledge about the medieval muslims and a decrease in how much the postcolonial theory have influenced the authors.