Born in Qatar, he was the second of his family to enjoy success in professional athletics, following in the footsteps of his older brother Mohamed Suleiman who was Qatar's first ever Olympic medallist. Suleiman began competing internationally at youth level: he ran in the 800 m heats of the 1999 World Youth Championships in Athletics and reached the event final at the 2000 World Junior Championships in Athletics the next year. His first medalling performances soon followed, although they came over the longer 1500 m distance – a bronze medal at the 2001 World Youth Championships paved the way for his silver medal at the 2002 World Junior Championships.