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Our image of Islam in this country needs to be changed - that's the view of group of Muslims who met with the Home Secretary in Leicester on 21 February 2008.

Jacqui Smith was in the city to talk to young and female members of the Muslim community at Leicester's Central Mosque.

She was invited by Leicester MPs Keith Vaz and Sir Peter Soulsby to see first-hand the progress between the mosque and people in Highfields.

Listen: Home Secretary visits Leicester

BBC Leicester's Khush Sameja went to speak to Jacqui Smith at Leicester's Central Mosque...

Jacqui Smith said she came to Leicester because she wanted to meet the people involved in building links between the mosque and the wider community.

"One of the things that the young people have said to me is that they think Leicester is a place where people work extremely well together from different faith groups.

"They think it's a good example for the rest of the country and I tend to agree with them from what I've seen."

A peaceful religion

Some of the women told the Home Secretary that it's vital that society's views of Islam are changed, as at the moment she feels stigmatised:

Muslim women from Leicester

"We know that our religion is a very peaceful religion, the majority of Muslims here are peace loving, they work in the community - I'm from an IT background, Minna's from an education background.

"We all are professionals, we contribute to this society, and therefore we feel deeply upset when the media goes and portrays us as fanatics, or even worse oppressed women."

"The first of many visits"

But why was a mosque chosen as the venue for the Home Secretary's visit? The MP for Leicester South, Sir Peter Soulsby, says he hopes Jacqui Smith will visit other faith groups in the city too:

"I'm determined that this should only be the first of many visits to the city and she should see the wide diversity of the communities in Leicester, and the contribution that they all make to our common life together."