Mount Muria


Mount Muria or Gunung Muria is a dormant volcano on the north coast of Java, Indonesia. It is located in the center of the Muria peninsula, which juts northward into the Java Sea on the north coast of Central Java, Indonesia east of Semarang, the capital of the province. Mount Muria is 1602 meters high but once was maybe twice that height. Mount Muria was once an island, separated from Java by the Muria Paleostrait. This strait closed around 1657.
The Muria area is notable for a number of reasons. It contains the grave sites of two of the Wali Sanga of Java - Sunan Muria, also known as Raden Umar Said, whose grave is in Colo on the southern slopes of Mount Muria, and Sunan Kudus, known also as Ja'far Shadiq, whose grave is in the city of Kudus to the south of Mount Muria. The Wali Sanga are the nine Islamic Saints associated with the origins of Islam in Java. As a consequence the grave is part of the network of sites in Java considered to be sacred. The name Kudus means "holy."
The area is also the locale of the missionary origins of the Muria Javanese Church, Gereja Injili di Tanah Jawa, in whose history the legendary Javanese Christian mystic Kiai Ibrahim Tunggul Wulung played an important role. It is also the area of the missionary origins of the Gereja Kristen Muria Indonesia Mennonite Christian group.
Major products of this area of Java are rice, sugar, coffee, fish, rubber, coconuts and clove cigarettes.
A major current issue for the area is the plan of the national electric company to construct a major nuclear power plant on the northwest side of Mount Muria.