Mulai Ahmed er Raisuni (Arabic: مولاي أحمد الريسوني), known as Raisuli to most English speakers, also Raissoulli, Rais Uli, and Raysuni; 1871[1] – April 1925[2]) was a Sharif (descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad), and a leader of the Jebala tribal confederacy in Morocco at the turn of the 20th 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.

[citation needed] 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.

However, he became more ambitious than before, growing to resent the Sultan's fealty to the various European powers - Britain, France, Spain and Germany - jockeying for influence in Morocco.

[citation needed] In 1904, Raisuni was propelled onto the international stage when he kidnapped the Greek-American expatriate Ion Perdicaris and his stepson Cromwell Varley and held them for a ransom of $70,000 ($2,370,000 in 2023).

[9][10] American President Theodore Roosevelt, then running for re-election, made political capital out of the incident, sending a squadron of warships to Morocco to force Abdelaziz's compliance with Raisuni's demands, famously proclaiming "Perdicaris Alive or Raisuli Dead!

"[9][11] After a near-confrontation between the government of Morocco and troops of the United States of America, Raisuni received his ransom money and concessions; he was appointed Pasha of Tangier and Governor of Jibala province, and all of his imprisoned followers were released.

[citation needed] He briefly regained favor with the Moroccan government, by siding with Mulay Hafid's overthrow of Abdelaziz, and was restored again as Pasha of Tangier.

His men were finally defeated by Colonel Manuel Fernández Silvestre on 3 October 1919 in the Battle of Fondak Pass, although Raisuni and most of his troops managed to slip away.

[15] Raisuni was intensely jealous of Abd el Krim and his growing popularity with the Rif peoples, hoping to gain control of Western Morocco with a Spanish victory.