Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari is an educationalist, community activist, author and parenting consultant in the British Muslim community. He has served East London’s diverse communities in various capacities for three decades. He was previously the Chairman of the board of trustees at the East London Mosque and 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.
He was Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain from June 2006 until June 2010 having completed two terms. As Secretary General, Dr Bari worked tirelessly to have more young people take part in the work of Britain’s largest Muslim umbrella group.
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. He worked in the education sector as a Special Educational Needs specialist (Behaviour Support). He is now a freelance consultant on parenting and a writer on community and social issues.
Dr Bari has written for various newspapers, journals and community publications, and is the author of Marriage and Family Building in Islam, A Guide to Parenting, and Race, Religion and Muslim Identity in Britain as well as his recent memoir A Long Jihad: My Quest for the Middle Way.
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.
His books, essays and speeches include:
The Long Jehad, My Quest for a Middle Way (2018)
http://www.salaam.co.uk/a-long-jehad-my-quest-for-the-middle-way-muhammad-abdul-bari/
Cherishing Childhood (2015)
http://www.salaam.co.uk/cherishing-childhood/
Meet the Challenge, Make the Change (2013)
http://www.salaam.co.uk/meet-the-challenge-make-the-change/
British, Muslims, Citizens: Introspection and Renewal (2012)
http://www.salaam.co.uk/british-muslims-citizens-introspection-and-renewal/
A Guide to Parenting in Islam: Addressing Adolescence (2011)
Debate: Cohesion & Shared Values (2011)In: Journal of Public Money & Management (Ed. Francis Davis)
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09540960903378167?journalCode=rpmm20
Speech at the Trade Union Congress (2006)
https://www.tuc.org.uk/research-analysis/reports/dr-muhammad-abdul-bari-address-congress-2006
