1. DID YOU KNOW ABOUT: OLIVER CROMWELL AND HIS VIEWS ON FAITH?

2. KEEPING IT REAL. Warts & all Portrait of Cromwell.

3. CROMWELL’S VIEWS: BANNED FESTIVITIES ASSOCIATED WITH CHRISTMAS AS HE KNEW THIS WAS NOT A REAL CHRISTIAN FESTIVAL. BANNED GAMBLING. BANNED DRUNKARD BEHAVIOUR. INCREASED TAXES ON THE RICH TO HELP THE POOR. BELIEVED THAT A PERSON SHOULD HAVE A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.

4. A DEVOUT MUSLIM’S VIEW: DON’T CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS AS NOT BELIEVED TO BE A RELIGIOUS FESTIVAL. DON’T GAMBLE. DON’T DRINK ALCHOL. PAY TAX (ZAKAT) TO HELP THE POOR. DEVELOP YOUR TAQWA (PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD).

5. CROMWELL & ISLAM: AFTER WATCHING THE PREVIOUS SLIDES YOU WON’T BE SURPRISED TO HEAR THAT CROMWELL ACTULALY TRIED TO BUILD RELATIONS WITH THE MUSLIM OTTOMANS. AN EARLY FORM OF COMMUNITY COHESION! A MAN AHEAD OF HIS TIMES!

6. PLEDGE. Cromwell believed in community cohesion. Building Bridges believes in community cohesion. Consequently as a class why don’t you make up a pledge to do something that will bring Muslims and non-Muslim together