History will be made when representatives of all 43 mosques in South Yorkshire and Northern England will gather for the first Muslim community conference hosted by the county’s police force in February.

About 150 delegates are expected to attend the event to be held in Sheffield, entitled Advancing Community Cohesion. Speakers will include Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, head of Muslim Council of Britain and Abdul Basit, Deputy High Commissioner for Pakistan.

Top police officers will also address the meeting at the city’s Mega Centre.

Speakers from South Yorkshire Police will include Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes, Chief Supt Matt Jukes, Rotherham’s District Commander and Supt Mick Maguire, head of community safety.

“The idea behind this forum is to break down barriers and improve our relationship with the Muslim community,” said Mr. Maguire.

“This is the culmination of months of hard work between our department and the Muslim community to increase trust and understanding.

“We want to develop a cohesive community that shares concerns over issues such as stop and search, racist incidents, hate crime and antiterrorist measures.

“This conference is not just about any one topic though, it’s more about furthering neighbourhood policing, our partnership work and reducing crime and the fear of crime.”

The event follows the first meeting between the police force and imams in early 2006 and a Muslim women’s forum held last November.