Muslim Trade on the Gresik Coast and its Influence on the Politics of the Demak Sultanate in the XV–XVI Centuries

Abstract

This study examines Muslims in Gresik in the 15th to 16th centuries AD. They not only traded and preached but also played a significant political role. This historical sociological study attempts to illustrate the complexity of the political economy of Muslims in Gresik. Using world systems theory, this study analyzes the role of the Muslim community in Gresik, which was on the periphery, in the political economic contestation at the center of power. This study found: first, Gresik was a trading region from the Hindu-Buddhist era to Islam. Gresik Port became a trading hub in the archipelago and Asia. Second, the majority of traders in Gresik were Muslim. Some of these figures were Sunan Giri and Sunan Gresik. Third, Muslim traders in Gresik built a power that was considered a threat to the power of Majapahit. After Majapahit's collapse, the Demak Sultanate authorized Gresik Muslims to establish Giri Kedaton. The scholars and rulers of Giri Kedaton served not only as a source of religious legitimacy but also as political actors, particularly in legitimizing the succession of power in the Demak Sultanate.