Merdeka Special - Kapitan Kling Mosque

The first picture was taken in 1958.

The Kapitan Kling Mosque, built in 1801, is one of the oldest mosques in Penang. The then Lt Gov Sir George Leith gave Mus - lims a piece of land for religious purposes and the mosque — named after Cauder Mohhidden, the kapitan of the Indian Muslim settlers —was built on it.

The other old mosque is the Acheen Street Malay Mosque which was built in 1808 by the first Arab traders who came to Penang.

There was a dispute in the old days between the two mosques about when the Ramadan should start. But all that is over now.

Today, the Muslim community in the area has a choice whether to listen to the sermon in Tamil at the Kapitan Kling Mosque or in Malay at the Acheen Street Malay Mosque.