Punchline teamed up with Imam Hassan, spiritual leader of the Masjid e Noor Mosque in Gloucester, to organise a visit by a group of local business leaders.

Mark Owen, editor of Punchline, recently chatted at length to Imam Hassan in The Big Interview  and as a result of that interview the trip to the mosque was organised.

Mark said: "Basically I invited business people to go along to the mosque to have a better understanding of what they do and to see if we can work closer together.

"The visit to the mosque was organised to break down barriers and extend friendship between the different communities and enable each other to network more.

"It involved understanding about Ramadan, about fasting and prayers and destroying the myths around it all. The Imam explained about Eid and the different calendars and where they prayed - it was really, really interesting.

"It's important that we have good relations in the city.and that we understand where we're all coming from."

Ian Mean, Gloucestershire director of Business West, who was among those on the visit, said: "This was a good initiative by Mark Owen of Punchline to invite local business people to the Ryecroft Street mosque in Gloucester.

"I had never been in a mosque before and the experience was both interesting and valuable. Imam Hassan was very open about the Muslim culture and keen to dispel any myths we might have.

"There are great businesses run by Muslims in Gloucester and the county but we hear little about them. That must end. I felt that Mark's initiative was the first step in developing better relations with Muslim businesses."

Iman Hassan said: The event raised awareness of many day-to-day challenges Musilims could face in the workplace if management don't understand their needs.

"We spoke about the cultural and religious differences and how this could lead to confusion for colleagues and employes. I would say this highlighted the need for greater communication and awareness within the business communities of different faiths and how this could impact work life.

Punchline plans to organise another visit to the mosque in September. If you are interested in joining the visit, contact Mark Owen at mark@moosemarketingandpr.co.uk