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ACHEEN STREET MOSQUE

Figure 16 : Acheen Street Malay Mosque.

Source : Field Study (2008.)

The Acheen Street Malay Mosque is located on the southern end of George

Town, on Lebuh Acheh also known as Masjid Melayu Lebuh Acheh (Malay Mosque).The Acheh Street Mosque was built in 1808 on land donated by an Achenese aristocrat,

Tengku Syed Hussain Al-Aidid. It all began in 1792 when Tengku Syed Hussain opened

a Muslim settlement in the area near Lebuh Acheh. Over the following years, this

settlement became the centre of Islamic studies in Pulau Pinang, frequented by traders

from the surrounding Malay archipelago, Arab and India.

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The mosque was built alongside houses, shops and a Madrasah for Quranic

Studies. One of the religious figures of the time was Sheikh Omar Basheer Al-Khalilee,

who was succeeded by his son Sheikh Zakaria who later was appointed as the first

Mufti of Pulau Pinang and in 1888, Sheikh Yahya, his older brother, was appointed as

the first Kadi of Pulau Pinang.

Following the demise of Tengku Hussain in mid 1800's, the Lebuh Acheh Muslim

settlement continued to thrive and was at one time referred to as the Second Jeddah,

as pilgrims from nearby congregate here before departing to Mecca by sea. Every time

the Haj season begins, the Lebuh Acheh area is thronged by pilgrims and their families.

However, all this ended with the establishment of the Lembaga Tabung Haji in the1970s.

Architecturally, the Mosque is essentially hybrids; with a taste of the Moorish

influence, oriental forms, and Neo-Classical features. The styles can be seen from its

arches, windows, columns, hipped roof, and other elements on the minaret. The

Mosque is a good example of masonry building that is rich in architectural details and

vocabulary as well as the adaptation of building elements to the local climate. The

external walls are made of bricks which were plastered and painted with lime wash.

There has been a succession of colour coatings on the plastered walls starting

from white, light blue, yellow to the present colour of ivory. Decorative plastered

renderings are featured on the capitals of the interior columns and cornices. Besides

plaster and bricks, timber and marble floor tiles are widely used in the building. Timber

is used for the roof structures, casement windows, fanlights, grilles and ceilings. Granite

can be seen mainly around the pool and the verandah steps. The hipped roof, which

resembles most of the Chinese temples, uses asbestos sheets and mortar located

underneath the ridges. Later constructions made in the Mosque include metal awning

above the verandah, cemented floors, toilets and a modern ablution area.

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Figure 17 : Columns with a taste of the Moorish influence, oriental forms,and Neo-Classical features.

Source : Field Study (2008)

The entire complex is historically and architecturally important as it reflects the

earliest Muslim urban community in Penang comprising of the Malays, Indian Muslims,

Arabs and the Achehnese. It was also a hub of various activities for pilgrim brokers,

ticketing agencies, bazaar traders, hotel, shops, and printing presses. Today, the

Mosque as well as the surrounding properties has been endowed for religious and

cultural purposes.