Penang Islamic Museum

The Penang Islamic Museum is located on Armenian Street and it houses an exhibition which highlights the contribution of the Malay leaders in the expansion of Islam in Penang as well as Malaysia. It has a gallery that showcases the early 19th and 20th century public figures and their cultural impact on Penang.

This museum also displays a magnificent collection of the 19th-century furniture plus a real-life sized diorama of a dock scene. The scene illustrates a maritime-oriented haj (pilgrimage to Mecca). The gallery is also known as the Syed Alatas Mansion as the dock was once the residence of Syed Mohammed Al Attas, a powerful Acehnese pepper merchant. In the later years, the dock was occupied as a recycling port for Penang’s Indian Chettiar community.

The Penang Islamic museum has a similarity to the Teh Bunga Mansion which is nestled on Hutton Lane. It has that mid-19th century Straits style essence to it. The mansion remains one of the few buildings from that era in Penang that possesses unique Islamic elements in its architecture. The mansion was restored in 1996 and the project was awarded the Best Project of 1999 by Badan Warisan Malaysia (Heritage of Malaysia Trust).

Image by Dream Of A City.

Opening Hours

Monday, Wednesday till Sunday: 9:30pm – 6pm.
Tuesday: Closed

Admission

FREE

Location

128, Lebuh Acheh,
10450 George Town,
Penang.

View on map.

Hear From Others

From this museum walk, I get to know few prominent figures of Arab descent. Not all of them are with the title syed (lord) but some are with the title sheikh or have no title at all.

SinnerInRepentance

Penang Islamic Museum was created to celebrate the role and contribution of Malay leaders in the development and propagation of Islam in Penang. It also documents for posterity the history of the Malay settlement in Acheen Street and provides details on Malay personalities of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Fidelis Chin
FidelisChin

The Penang Islamic Museum takes you on a trail which traces the earliest days of Islam in Penang and Malaya right until the present day, via galleries and sections divided by theme. 

pktan
TravelMalaysiaGuide

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