According to various biographies, Dr. Abu Sulayman was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia and received his BA and MA at the University of Cairo and a PhD in International Relations at the University of Pennsylvania in 1973. His global Muslim Brotherhood affiliations includes:
- Secretary General of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) (1973-79)
- Chairman, Department of Political Science at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, (1982-84)
- Initial Board of Directors SAAR Foundation (1983)
- Founding member of The Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS) (1972) and its former President, (1985-87)
- Rector, International Islamic University Malaysia (1989-1999)
Dr. Abu Sulayman is currently Chairman of the Board and trustee of International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) and its former president and founding member. IIIT was founded in the U.S. in 1980 by important members of the Global Muslim Brotherhood who wished to promote the “Islamization of Knowledge.” IIIT was associated with the now defunct SAAR Foundation, a network of Islamic organizations located in Northern Virginia that was raided by the Federal government in 2003 in connection with the financing of terrorism.