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Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari was born in Bangladesh in 1953. After studying at Chittagong University he joined the Bangladesh Air Force in 1978. Later he moved to the United Kingdom. In 1983, he was awarded a scholarship to do a PhD in England. He studied at King's College London, and at the Royal Holloway College as a postdoctoral researcher, which let him become involved in community work. He spent five years in a secondary school in London training as a teacher. He is a researcher in physics, science teacher and Special Educational Needs specialist in London.

His interests include reading and travelling "where there are mountains and seas." His father was a land-owning farmer in the Tangail outside Dhaka. He speaks Bangla and English fluently and believes all immigrants to the United Kingdom should speak English.

He has been Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain since June 2006. Before that he was for four years the Council's Deputy-Secretary General. A physicist and educationalist by training, Dr Bari received his doctorate and qualified as a teacher from King's College London, and gained a Management Degree from the Open University. Dr Bari began his research studies in England after training as an Air Force officer in Bangladesh. Since qualifying, Dr Bari has been a researcher in Physics, a science teacher and today is a Special Needs specialist in London. For the last three decades Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari has served the community in various capacities. He is currently the Chair of the East London Mosque & London Muslim Centre, London's oldest Islamic centre of worship.

Dr Bari is a patron of the National Youth Agency and the Ramphal Centre, a board member of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and served on the Good Childhood Inquiry Panel set up by the Children's Society in 2006 and as trustee of Muslim Aid, an international Muslim charity. He is a former president of the Islamic Forum of Europe. He has written for newspapers and similar publications and is the author of 'Building Muslim Families', 'A Guide to Parenting', and 'Race, Religion and Muslim Identity in Britain'. In recognition for his services to the community, Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari was conferred an MBE in 2003, was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2005 and an Honorary Fellow of Queen Mary, University of London in July 2008.

He is on the London 2012 Organising Committee Board for the 2012 Summer Olympics.