Mulai Ahmed er Raisuni

Mulai Ahmed er Raisuni (Arabic: "مولاي أحمد الريسوني", known as Raisuli to most English speakers, also Raissoulli, Rais Uli, and Raysuni) (b. 1871,Zinat, Tétouan – d. April 1925, Tamasint, Al Hoceima) was a Berber, claimed Sharif (descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad), and a leader of the Jebala tribal confederacy in Morocco at the turn of the 20th Century. While regarded by foreigners and the Moroccan government as a brigand, some Moroccans, especially among the Jebala, considered him a heroic figure, fighting a repressive, corrupt government, while others considered him a thief. Historian David S. Woolman referred to Raisuni as "a combination Robin Hood, feudal baron, and tyrannical bandit." He was considered by many as "The last of the Barbary Pirates" though Barbary Coast piracy had ended by the middle of the 19th century. On the other hand, according to Douglas Porch, an American historian, Raisuni was part of the rule rather than the exception in that every successful Moroccan politician at the time combined villainy with sainthood. He died in April 1925 after having been captured and imprisoned by his rival Abd el Krim.

Mulai Ahmed er Raisuni was born in the village of Zinat sometime in 1871. Due to his place of origin and his reportedly handsome visage, one of his other nicknames was "the Eagle of Zinat." He was the son of a prominent Caid, and began following in his father's footsteps. However, Raisuni eventually drifted into crime, stealing cattle and sheep and earning the ire of Moroccan authorities. He was also widely known as a womanizer.

By most accounts, the formative event in Raisuni's life was his arrest and imprisonment by Abd-el-Rahman Abd el-Saduk, the Pasha of Tangier, who was Raisuli's cousin and foster brother. The Pasha had invited Raisuni to dinner in his home in Tangier, only for his men to capture and brutalize Raisuni when he arrived. He was sent to the dungeon of Mogador and chained to a wall for four years; fortunately, his friends were allowed to bring him food, and he managed to survive. Raisuni was released from prison as part of a general clemency early in the reign of Sultan Abdelaziz - ironically, soon to become Raisuni's greatest enemy.

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