Azhari worked as a director of quality control at the Amal Petroleum Company.[2] He is the vice president of the Egyptian Federation of Trade Unions,[3] and a member of the General Union of Egyptian Workers.[4] He was one of the victims of police brutality in 2010.[5]
Azhari was elected to the People's Assembly for the FJP in 2011. In January 2012, he was named deputy chairman of the parliamentary manpower committee.[2][6] He was also among the Constituent Assembly's 85 members.[7] The Assembly was charged with the writing of Egypt's new constitution.[8]
He was appointed minister of manpower and immigration on 2 August 2012.[5] His appointment led to suspicions over the Brotherhood's potential to dominate labor affairs in Egypt.[9] He and other FJP members in the cabinet resigned from office on 4 July 2013 following the 2013 coup in Egypt.[10] His term officially ended on 16 July 2013 when the interim government led by Hazem Al Beblawi was formed.[11]
Azhari was arrested on 29 August 2013 by security forces in Giza,[12] along with senior leader Mohamed Elbeltagy and Jamal al-Ishri, another brotherhood official.[13]