text: Murdered preacher Abdul Hadi Arwani (above) was killed by a hitman who climbed into the back of his car, it emerged last night . Murdered preacher Abdul Hadi Arwani was killed by a hitman who climbed into the back of his car, it emerged last night. The Syrian-born 48-year-old was lured to an upmarket street in London on the pretence of providing a quote for some building work. But when the imam arrived, the killer got into the rear seat of his Volkswagen Passat and shot him several times. The murder at 11.15am on Tuesday bears all the hallmarks of a professional assassination because the gunman was thought to have used a silencer and it took place away from CCTV cameras. Scotland Yard counter-terrorism officers are investigating whether Mr Arwani, a fierce critic of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, was murdered on the orders of the regime. They suspect the part-time builder was tricked into driving to Wembley to quote for a job – but the killer was put off when the imam took his teenage son along and claimed he could not find the keys to the house. He is thought to have been executed when the mystery client – described as having an African accent – asked Mr Arwani to return a second time alone. Shortly after the shooting Mr Arwani's car was discovered 'perfectly parked' on the side of the road with the engine still running and with one of the windows wound down. The father-of-six from Acton, west London, had links to the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group outlawed in Syria and other countries in the Middle East. He is understood to have been a member of the organisation until about seven years ago, but retained ties to some of the group's senior figures. The Syrian-born 48-year-old was lured to an upmarket street in London on the pretence of providing a quote for some building work. Above, two men stand outside the An Noor mosque in Acton, west London, which is near to where Mr Arwani was shot dead on Tuesday . Police cordoned off the murder scene. It is thought that when the imam arrived, the killer got into his Volkswagen Passat . Mr Arwani was a fierce critic of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, who is pictured above in September 2013 . Mr Arwani fled Syria in 1982 after a massacre in his home city of Hama carried out on the orders of Assad's father, Hafez. The imam, who moved to Britain in the mid-1990s after studying Islamic law in Jordan, claimed he was sentenced to death in his absence by the Syrian regime. He was involved in violent anti-Assad demonstrations outside the Syrian Embassy in London three years ago. Police were forced to use riot shields to beat back protesters after they broke through barriers, and six people were arrested. Mr Arwani told reporters during the demonstration: 'This building belongs to the Syrian people, not a regime killing people every single day for ten months.' Detectives are also considering whether the father of six was killed by someone associated with the notorious An Noor mosque in Acton where he was imam from 2005 to 2011.
target: Abdul Hadi Arwani found dead in his 'perfectly parked' car on Tuesday .
  Gunman probably used a silencer and chose an area away from CCTV .
  Father-of-six from Acton, west London, had links to Muslim Brotherhood .