The Impact of Islam in Today's British Society conference was organised by the Cambridgeshire Association of Muslim Police Officers.

Its chairman, Umar Siddique, told some 300 delegates that the organisation was working with key partners to develop and set up muslim and multi-faith forums and to continue providing Islamic awareness training for staff.

"We are continuously looking at best practices in other police areas to adopt in Cambridgeshire," he said. "We are also working closely with the Christian Police Association to improve cohesiveness amongst all."

Inayat Bunglawala, from the Muslim Council of Britain, said the negative portrayal of Muslims in the media was of concern.

Referring to headlines in a couple of red-top tabloids, Mr Bunglawala said few religious groups had been maligned by the press to such an extent.

In complete contrast, Nazir Afzal, director of the Crown Prosecution Service in London South, urged Muslims to step away from the victim mentality and to instead engage more with the media and be more positive.

Mr Afzal who talked about Sharia Law, described it as an alternative dispute resolution technique, and said it probably had a place but "British law must always take precedence".

The conference was held at the Deafblind UK headquarters, in Hampton, yesterday.