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Address: Lebuh Leith Penang.

The Indians from Bengal first came to Penang in the late 18″ century as ‘sepoys’ and convicts with the East India Company. Francis Light also brought out some Bengal farmers’ from Calcutta to encourage agricultural enterprise on the island. While the early Bengalis hailed from Bengal, the term ‘Bengali’ soon came to apply to other northern Indians who travelled overland to Calcutta in West Bengal and then sailed to Penang.

The mosque is believed to have been founded in 1803 on a site granted by the East India Company during George Leith’s term as Lieutenant-Governor of Penang. Rebuilt on 1958. Urdu was probably the principal language used in this mosque although in certain periods the dwindling Urdu-speaking population was overshadowed by an increase in Tamil worshippers. Today, the Masjid Bengali has become a base for the Tablighi movement, and the main languages used here are Malay and Tamil.

Location map:

GPS Coordinates: 5.420222N, 100.333511E Show on map

Posted by admin on March 27, 2011 under World Heritage.