Ahmed Raïssouni

Sheikh Dr. Ahmed Raïssouni (, born 1953) is a Moroccan Islamic scholar and jurist. He served as president of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) until his retirement in 2022. He was the former head of the (MUR), an organization closely linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and the Moroccan Justice and Development Party.

Raïssouni is one of main figures in the Moroccan Sufi Islamic reform and revivalist movement started by Allal al-Fassi. Raïssouni retired from the IUMS in 2022 after stating that Mauritania's existence was "a mistake".

Early life and education Raïssouni was born in the village of Ouled Soltane, near Ksar el-Kebir. He finished his primary and secondary education in the Ksar el-Kebir, where he obtained a Baccalaureate in modern literature. He was the first secretary-general of the Moroccan Association of Alumni in Greater Islamic Studies from 1992 to 1996. Raïssouni was the editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper Attajadid from 2000 until 2004.

The MUR is considered the ideological branch of the Islamist Justice and Development Party, and maintains close ties with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Raïssouni is a senior expert at the International Islamic Fiqh Academy, and a visiting professor the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies. He is a former professor of Islamic jurisprudence and Sharia at Mohammed V University. He had also criticized the King's reforms to the family code in 2000.

In 2012, he condemned prosternation and kissing of the King's hands under royal protocol. In 2015, he stated that French is a "dying language" in Morocco and called the teaching of French in Morocco "everything but nationalistic". The same year, Raïssouni stated that abortion should be only permitted to "get rid of future abortion rights activists" as it would "rid society of their struggles". In 2017, he entered the terrorist watchlist of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates due to his ties with Qatar.

On August 2, 2022, during an interview with Blanca TV, Raïssouni stated that Mauritania's existence is "a mistake", claiming that Mauritania "was an integral part of Morocco", and suggests Morocco should "recover its historical borders", On his site, Raïssouni said that his statements were "misunderstood", that he was talking from a "historical view", and invited "every Moroccan [...] to visit their brothers in Tindouf".

The Association of Muslim Ulemas of Algeria froze its membership to International Union of Muslim Scholars following his remarks, and urged Raïssouni to resign.

On August 28, 2022, Raïssouni announced his retirement and resigned from presidency at the International Union of Muslim Scholars, he stated that his retirement was to "exercise my freedom of expression, without conditions, compromises or pressure, standing firmly to my positions and opinions".

Personal life Raïssouni is married and has five children.

Books Raïssouni has published a number of scholarly works, mostly surrounding the topics of Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) and its foundations, Maqasid Al Shari'ah, and Islamic governance. Among the books he has written are: