Masjid Zahir (GPS: 6.12033, 100.36515) is the state mosque of Alor Star, Kedah. It was built in 1912 by Tunku Mahmud, the son of Sultan Tajuddin Mukarram Shah, on the site of the resting place of local warriors who fell in the course of defencing Kedah against the Siamese invasion of 1821 (read history of Alor Setar and Kuala Kedah Fort). In front of the mosque is a arch which was also built in 1912.1
The design of Masjid Zahir is based on that of Masjid Azizi of Bandar Langkat in northern Sumatra. The mosque has five domes to represent the five tenets of Islam. Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah officiated in the opening of Masjid Zahir on Friday, 15 October, 1912, and acted as Imam for the day, after reading a sermon by Tunku Mahmud.