This work is about the relationship between the West (the Occident) and what is called the Orient, where the Orient is a counter-relation to the West and is painted as "the other". At the same time, the people who live in these areas become "the others", or "the other". This in turn leads to misconceptions being created and to the Orient being seen as something mysterious, exotic, or inferior, according to Edward W. Said (1978). In addition, the image of the Orient has been produced as an opposite characterized by backwardlooking in comparison with the "modern" West (1978:3-5). The results show that when the periods Antiquity up to and including the Middle Ages are treated, the textbooks have a relative nuanced description of the Middle East. Further the Middle East is presented not only as a material part of the "West", but also as one fundamental part of future development. The negative aspects that are expressed can also weighed against a comparable negative side of the "West", for example regarding the Arabs the conquests versus the Crusades. On the other hand, Islam and Christianity are portrayed as great ideological enemies, with a clear geographical demarcation through the Mediterranean and strengthens the image of "east" and "west" as incompatible. By generalizing about the majority population in the Middle East as Arabs and highlight the religion of Islam as one opposite to Western secularism when contemporary history is dealt with in textbooks they emphasize "Arabs" and Islam, or religious in general, as the other.