[5] His father is a Muslim Iraqi Arab, while his mother, a Presbyterian Indo-Trinidadian, also represented the San Fernando West constituency in Parliament.

[5] His maternal great-grandfather was Pundit Seukeran Sharma, a Hindu priest, from Tableland, Princes Town, Trinidad and Tobago.

[10] Al-Rawi contested San Fernando West constituency in the 2015 General Election, beating Raziah Ahmed of the United National Congress.

In October 2016 Al-Rawi's children were photographed in possession of high powered military grade assault rifles.

He responded that they were receiving training from the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force in response to unreported death threats.