'Peaceful' imam gunned down in street had been replaced at mosque by Caribbean preacher who was involved in bloody coup attempt 25 years ago
Abdul Hadi Arwani was found dead in Wembley on Wednesday morning
The 48-year-old imam had been replaced at the An-Noor Mosque in Acton
His replacement was 53-year-old Hassan Anyabwile from the Caribbean
Anyabwile involved in attempted coup in 1990, Parliamentary report found
Belonged to a local radical Islamic group called Jamaat al Muslimeen
He moved to the UK after being given amnesty in exchange for surrender
He denied any dispute between the west London mosque and Mr Arwani
The mosque has refused to answer questions over Mr Arwani's time there
Counter terrorism police are now leading the investigation into his death
By Jennifer Smith for MailOnline
Published: 07:59 EST, 10 April 2015 | Updated: 08:51 EST, 10 April 2015
An imam who was gunned down in the street in a murder that is thought to have links to terrorism had been replaced at his mosque by a Caribbean preacher involved in an attempted coup d'état 25 years ago.
Abdul Hadi Arwani, 48, was found slumped in a Volkswagen Passat on Wednesday morning in Wembley. The imam, described as 'the most peaceful man you could ever wish to meet', had gun wounds to the chest.
He was said to have been embroiled in dispute with his former workplace, the An-Noor mosque in Acton, where he had been replaced by Hassan Anyabwile from Trinidad and Tobago.
The name of Mr Anyabwile, 53, appears in Caribbean parliament documents surrounding a violent coup attempt in 1990 by Muslim group Jamaat al Muslimeen.
Hassan Anyabwile replaced Abdul Arwani at the mosque
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Relatives described Mr Arwani as 'the most peaceful man you could meet'. He fled Syria as a teenager, repulsed by its regime
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Hassan Anywabwile (left) from Trinidad and Tobago was brought in to replace Abdul Arwani (right) at the An-Noor Mosque in Acton. Mr Arwani was found dead on Wednesday with bullet wounds in his chest
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Mr Arwani stepped down from his role at the mosque last year after it was repeatedly linked to extremism. When contacted, staff at the An-Noor Mosque refused to answer questions about the former preacher's time there
Over the course of six days, almost 100 members of the Islamic organisation were involved in holding hostages at gunpoint in the island's capital, Port of Spain.
The city's police headquarters were blown up in the coup, with Mr Anyabwile described by a Parliamentary report of being 'responsible for organising the use' of the explosives involved.
The coup ended after six days with the insurgents' surrendering on the condition of amnesty on August 1. Twenty-four people had been killed in the anarchy.
It is understood Mr Anyabwile replaced Mr Arwani at the An-Noor mosque in Acton, West London, some time around 2013. He is registered as having lived in London since 2005.
Mr Arwani stepped down from the An-Noor mosque last year following repeated accusations that it was linked to extremism.
When approached this afternoon Mr Anyabwile, who became partially disabled after being shot four times in legs, denied any knowledge of any dispute.
Anyabwile is named in a Trinidadian parliamentary report on an attempted coup which saw 24 people killed in 1990. He is described as being 'responsible' for the use of explosives in the blowing of police headquarters
It is not clear how long Anyabwile has been working at the mosque in Acton, west London
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Mr Anyabwile did not comment on claims Mr Arwani had been embroiled in a dispute with the mosque when approached
Arriving for midday prayers the man, who was helped into a wheelchair by a security guard, told the MailOnline: 'Feud? I know nothing about that.
'All I can say is from Allah we come, and to Allah we return.'
When contacted today another member of staff at the mosque refused to answer questions about Mr Arwani's time there.
A statement printed on a piece of paper and taped to its front door read: 'We have with great sadness heard of the unfortunate death of Shaykh [sic] Abdulhadi Arwarni who was the former Imam of the Annoor [sic] Cultural & Community Centre who served from 2005 to 2011, he will be sadly missed.
“All I can say is from Allah we come, and to Allah we return”
Hassan Anyabwile
'We send our sympathies and condolences to his family, the Muslim community and friends. May Allah forgive him and open the doors of mercy onto him.'
But one friend of the late imam said the dispute between the father of six and the An-Noor Mosque had been heated.
Solicitor Mohammad Bassam Tablieh, 43, said there had been conflict about the 'running' of the mosque.
There is no suggestion that either Mr Anyabwile or the An-Noor mosque in Acton is suspected of any involvement in his death, with counter terrorism police still investigating.
Scotland Yard officers called in the specialist division because 'of their expertise in the management of investigations with international dimensions and an established liaison network abroad'.
'The investigation remains in its very early stages and officers remain open-minded about the motive,' a spokesman added.
Earlier this week sources close to the Mr Arwani said they feared he may have been killed by supporters of the Syrian president Bashar-al-Assad - of whom the imam was a fierce critic.
Describing his father as 'the most peaceful man you could meet,' one of his six children, Murhaf, said he was 'actively involved in the fight against extremism'.
'He did not care what your background, race or status was. He did not care if you were rich or poor.
'He just wanted to help people in need. He spoke up and out against the crime of terror and oppression wherever he found it,' he said in a statement.
Later his 23-year-old daughter, Elham Arwani, said while her father was openly 'against Assad', she did not think that was the reason behind his killing.
Mr Arwani's family said they did not believe his death was connected to his opposition of the Assad regime. Speaking at the family home (above), his 23-year-old daughter said that was likely 'not the reason'
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Mr Arwani's family said they did not believe his death was connected to his opposition of the Assad regime. Speaking at the family home (above), his 23-year-old daughter said that was likely 'not the reason'
THE PORT OF SPAIN COUP OF 1990 WHICH SAW ISLAMIC GROUP TAKE PRIME MINISTER HOSTAGE FOR SIX DAYS
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Anyabwile was involved in the attempted coup of Trinidad and Tobago in 1990. Above, a rebel fighter stands with his AK-47 during the six-day standoff
Almost 25 years ago, around 100 members of the radical Islamic group Jamaat-al-Muslimeen stormed Trinidad and Tobago's Parliament in Port of Spain.
They were demanding that the then Prime Minister, Arthur Robinson, resign and that new elections be held, accusing the leader of wild extravagance while, they said, its working classes went hungry.
The rebels blew up Port of Spain's police headquarters and stormed a state-run television channel in a bid to take control of the Trinidadian capital.
The Muslimeen's leader, Yasin Abu Bakr, appeared ominously on air during the first day of the coup attempt.
Among one of their hostages was Mr Robinson. The Prime Minister was shot and beaten during the six-day coup.
Violence and looting ravaged the city as all those who had been in the buildings when the Muslimeen stormed remained in their capture.
On its sixth day, the rebels agreed to surrender on the condition of amnesty - releasing what remaining hostages they were keeping unharmed.
They were all arrested and charged with treason but later released after producing copies of an amnesty that had been agreed when brokering an end to the coup.
Anyabwile, formerly known in the Caribbean as Beville Marshall, is thought to have separated from the Muslimeen in 2001.
Years later he was shot four times in the legs, leaving him in need of a wheelchair. He had tried to establish his own Islamist group, according to the Trinidadian press.
In 2004 a local report claimed he had been turned down for asylum by the Home Office having told them that his life would be in danger if he returned to the Caribbean.
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The attempted coup brought the island's capital to a standstill with looting and violence rife for days
But friends and neighbours claimed critics of the Assad regime had been targeted in the area, with some residents who displayed green flags, a sign of opposition to the Syrian government, having their tyres slashed.
Mr Arwani grew up in Hama, the site of a notorious 1982 massacre where up to 40,000 civilians were killed by the Syrian Army under the orders of Hafez al-Assad, the current president's father.
He fled the country as a 16-year-old, taking refuge in the UK while his parents faced routine questioning of his whereabouts for years.
One of the mourners who gathered in his memory at Nadi Park Royal in Willesden Junction, north west London, said he had returned to Syria in recent years to dissuade fighters from aligning themselves with the Government.
The source claimed Mr Arwani stopped going to the country on advice from the Turkish authorities.
The An-Noor Mosque, where Mr Arwani used to be one of the main imams, has a reputation for hosting fundamentalist speakers.
It became notorious in 2013 when a terror suspect went there and changed into a burqa in order to escape surveillance then went on the run.
Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed has been missing for 16 months, and was last seen entering An-Noor dressed as a man before leaving in a full-length covering designed for women which obscured his identity.
He was subject to a Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measure, which restrict the movements of people suspected of involvement in terrorism.
Other extremists linked to the mosque include Uthman Mustafa Kamal, the son of hate preacher Abu Hamza, who has regularly led prayers at An-Noor.
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