Seyyed (Teungku) Hussain al-Aidid was a merchant of Arab descent related to the Acehnese court and the father of Syarif Saiful Alam Syah, who contested the Acehnese throne in 1815–1820; he arrived in Penang in 1792 and was welcomed by Francis Light. He became the leader of the Muslim community and of Acehnese and Arab traders in the quarter later called Lebuh Aceh (Acheen Street). In 1808 he founded the Lebuh Aceh Malay Mosque, still one of the oldest mosques in George Town, together with houses and the al-Aidid family burial ground. His role shows Aceh's contribution to the making of Penang's Malay Muslim community at a time when the Acehnese sultanate itself was in decline.