MULAI AHMED ER RAISUNI

(Redirected from Mulai Ahmed er Raisuli)
'Mulai Ahmed er Raisuni' (known as 'Raisuli' for most English speakers) was the sherif (descendant of Mohammed) of the Riffian Berber tribe in Morocco at the turn of the 19th/20th Century, and considered by many to be the rightful heir to the throne of Morocco. While regarded by foreigners and the Moroccan government as a brigand, some Moroccans considered him a heroic figure, fighting a repressive, corrupt government, and some considered him a thief. He was considered as by many as "the last of the Barbary Pirates" (though his actions were limited to the land).
In 1904, he was propelled onto the international stage when he kidnapped Greek-American expatriate Ion Perdicaris and his son-in-law Cromwell Varley and held them to ransom (Tribute/Zacca). While the most famous of his exploits, the kidnapping of Perdicaris and Varley was part of a larger campaign against Sultan Abdelaziz of Morocco, whom Raisuni saw as corrupt and beholden to European powers. Several years prior to the incident, he had been arrested by the Pasha of Tangier, Abd-el-Rahman Abd-el-Saduk (his distant relative), and chained to a wall for four years, until he was released by sympathetic guards. Raisuli had previously kidnapped several British, French, and Spanish emissaries, holding some for ransoming and killing others. After a near-confrontation between the government of Morocco and troops of the United States of America, Raisuni received his ransom money, but continued to antagonize the Moroccan government. He was a leader in the Rif War of the 1920's until he was captured by Abd el Krim. He survived the war and his imprisonment, and lived for several more decades. He is still regarded as a folk hero by many in Morocco.
He was portrayed by Sean Connery in the heavily fictionalized 1975 film ''The Wind and the Lion''.

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★ The Capital Century: 1904: 'Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead!'

★ Brief Time Magazine Article from 1925