Muhammad Abdul Bari

For other uses, see Abdul Bari (disambiguation).

Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari MBE FRSA
Born	2 October 1953 (1953-10-02) Tangail, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh)
Residence	Tooting, South London, United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Ethnicity	Bangladeshi
Education	Postdoctoral research Management Professional Graduate Certificate in Education
Alma mater	Chittagong University Royal Holloway, University of London Open University
Occupation	Physicist, Educationalist
Religion	Islam

Muhammad Abdul Bari, MBE FRSA (Bengali: মুহাম্মাদ আব্দুল বারি; born 2 October 1953), is the Chairman of the East London Mosque, and was the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain from 2006 until 2010.

Life and career

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 Royal Holloway College as a postdoctoral researcher, where he become involved in community work. He entered into teaching after completing Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) from King's College London in 1991. He spent five years in a secondary school in London training as a Science 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 Bengali and English fluently and believes all immigrants to the United Kingdom should speak English.

Bari has served East London's diverse communities in various capacities for three decades. Since 2002, he has been the Chairman of the board of trustees at the East London Mosque (London’s first mosque, which now includes the London Muslim Centre) leading the institution to win the national ‘Super Model Mosque Competition’ in 2009. He is also a founding member of The East London Communities Organisation (TELCO), a coalition of churches, mosques, and other civil society organisations working together to promote understanding and a safer, fairer and better governed city.^{[citation needed]}

He was Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain from June 2006 until June 2010, having completed two terms. Prior to that, he served as the Council's Deputy-Secretary General for four years. As Secretary General, Bari worked to have more young people take part in the Council's work.^{[citation needed]}

A physicist and educationalist by training, Bari received his doctorate in Physics and qualified as a teacher from King's College London, and gained a management degree from the Open University. He is now a Special Educational Needs specialist in London.^{[citation needed]}

In addition, Bari is a patron of the National Youth Agency, The Ramphal Centre, Anchor House (a homeless charity based in Newham, London) and Nida Trust (an educational charity). He is a trustee of Muslim Aid, an international charity and London Catalyst. He served on the Good Childhood Inquiry Panel which was set up by the Children's Society in 2006. He is also an advisor to the Centre for Public Policy Seminars.^{[citation needed]}

Bari is a parenting consultant and facilitates an interactive parenting skills programme "Building Families" (www.amanaparenting.com). He has written for various newspapers, journals and community publications.^{[citation needed]} He is the author of Building Muslim Families, A Guide to Parenting, "Addressing Adolescence: A Guide to Parenting in Islam" and Race, Religion and Muslim Identity in Britain.

In recognition of his services to the community, 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.^{[citation needed]} Bari was recognised for his 'Outstanding Achievement' by British Bangladeshi WHO's WHO 2011 in Islamic Affairs and Community Relations. He has been featured in January 2012 in the British Bangladeshi Power 100.

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

Views

Bari has appeared in the British media to speak about Muslims in Britain, integration and what efforts could be taken to improve and control fundamentalism rising among and against Muslims since 9/11 and the 7 July bombings. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, he said he believes the rise of Islamophobia is linked to sections of the media and some politicians: "But some political leaders and sections of the media are demonising Muslims, treating them as if they're all terrorists – and that encourages other people to do the same."^{[citation needed]} "Young Muslims need role models to show them they can play a part in British society."

Bari feels that the media is only interested in fringe groups of angry Muslims instead of mainstream Muslims from the commmunity. He also made the criticism that some right wing tabloid media twisted some of his past comments. Bari criticises the government's stance on how it deals with violent extremism, which he believes is responsible for creating tensions within the communities, and believes that the "UK will become Nazi Germany, if the situation is not handled very well by the government." One of his examples included remarks by the head of MI5, Jonathan Evans, and criticised the government's war on Iraq, described as a "disaster".

Bari occasionally writes on social and global issues in HuffingtonPost and AlJazeera English.

Books

• Muhammad Abdul Bari,(2002), The Greatest Gift: A Guide to Parenting from an Islamic Perspective. Ta-Ha Publishers. ISBN 9781842000441
• Muhammad Abdul Bari (2005), Race, Religion, & Muslim Identity in Britain. Renaissance Press. ISBN 9780954329471
• Muhammad Abdul Bari (2007), Marriage and Family Building in Islam. Ta-Ha Publishers. ISBN 9781842000830
• Muhammad Abdul Bari (2011), Addressing Adolescence: A Guide to Parenting in Islam. Ta-Ha Publishers. ISBN 139781842001257
• Muhammad Abdul Bari (2012), British, Muslims,Citizens: Introspection and Renewal. Consilium Publishing. ISBN 9781620950975

See also

• List of British Bangladeshis

External links

• Media 'contributing to rise of Islamophobia' Telegraph
• 'UK will become Nazi Germany' if it's not careful when tackling terrorism, says Muslim leader Mail Online
• 'British should try arranged marriages' Telegraph
• 'Trust at risk' after terror raid Guardian
• Eid in the square BBC London
• UK Muslim Leader Urges More Positive Focus Sky News
• Dr Bari: Government stoking Muslim tension Telegraph