His father is Sunni Muslim scholar Mehr Ali Qadri, who arrived in the late 1970s in The Hague, Netherlands, to serve as an Imam.

He moved to the Netherlands at a young age,[4] where his Sunni Muslim scholar father, Mehr Ali Qadri, had settled in the 1970s to serve as an imam in The Hague.

[8] He was a founding member of the Council of Irish Imams, but resigned from it in 2016, citing a lack of confidence in it and stating it was "ineffective as a platform to discuss the concerns of the Muslim Community in Ireland.

[16] The launch took place in the Waterford Institute of Technology on Thursday 22 January 2015, where Al-Qadri delivered a talk on Islam, Jihad, and Terrorism.

[14] According to Al-Qadri, members of ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab and Boku Haram are un-Islamic, unqualified vigilantes who violate basic Islamic teachings.

[14] In June 2015 he organised a protest against ISIS in Dublin City Centre where he launched "Guidelines to Prevent Radicalisation among Irish Muslims".

[19] Minister for Health, Simon Harris, welcomed the statement, tweeting "I welcome this strong statement this evening from the Islamic Centre of Ireland which makes it clear that FGM has no place in any society, it is wrong in all situations and is harmful and a violation and condemns it and rejects the appalling comments of Mr Selim #EndFGM"[20] Al-Qadri promotes integration of Muslims in Ireland and has spoken on many public platforms stressing the importance of integration.

He believes interfaith dialogue between Muslims and other religions will “build bridges and demolish walls that separate” the religious groups.

"[28] In March 2023, Al-Qadri wrote on behalf of the Irish Muslim Council that it supported the position of the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association in opposing teaching children about gender identity, saying "The Irish Muslim Council believes every child in primary school should be supported, respected and treated with consideration.

[30] Al-Qadri has also appeared on TV3 and RTE television and radio channels on many occasions, being interviewed about issues relating to the Muslim community in Ireland.