Sunan Giri

Sunan Giri (also called Raden Paku or Joko Samudra), Muhammad Ainul Yakin (born 1442 CE in Blambangan (now Banyuwangi) is considered to be one of the Wali Sanga of Indonesia.

He was the son of Dewi Sekardadu and Maulana Ishak of Melaka (brother of Maulana Malik Ibrahim), but later adopted as a son by Nyai Semboja (a female merchant). A traditional story says that he was the son of a Hindu princess, who had come to Blambangan as a missionary. The princess was forced to abandon him in a crisis and set him adrift on the ocean in a small boat, from which he was rescued by sailors, a story reminiscent of the Biblical Moses. (see Sejarah Banten).

His tomb is at Sunan Giri Mosque, near Grisik, 45 km from Surabaya.

As a young man Sunan Giri studied in the school of Sunan Ampel, whose daughter he eventually married, and where Raden Patah was his fellow student.

He later established his own school in Desa Sidomukti at Southern Gresik in East Java—a location from which he got his name ("Giri" means "hill"). The Islamic School which he established was not only an institute of religious studies, but also center for various local civic activities and social development.

The king of Majapahit granted Giri the authority to expand his role in political leadership, which later on to lead to the greater development of the school, popularly known as Giri Kedaton. Sunan Giri was also known as Prabu Satmata, due to his remarkable record.

Sunan Giri foretold the rise of Mataram, and spread Islam to Lombok, Sulawesi, and Maluku. He was a proponent of orthodox Islam, and disapproved of innovation (much like "modernist" Islamic scholars of the 1800s and 1900s).

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