Muslim activist who claims to be of Latino, South Asian or Arab descent

The chief inclusion officer of a Philadelphia-based Quaker group was ‘kicked out’ by his mother.’

A colleague of Raquel Saraswati of the American Friends Service Committee said: Now I’m asking if she’s actually an infiltrator and actively undermining their work.

“I definitely feel trapped. intercept.

Ann open letter One of the “groups of individuals deeply interested in AFSC” conducted a detailed analysis of her ancestry and work and expressed concern about her role.

They accused the 39-year-old, who converted to Islam in high school and has since come out as gay, of “cultural barbarism” and said, “The shades of bronzer she applied to her face were outdone by the time. It got darker over time,” he said.

Around 2005, Saraswati appears to have started claiming that the indigenous people are Indians. She is pictured celebrating the election of Kamala Harris, the first Indian-American vice president.

The authors asked the AFSC to investigate “why members of the highest leadership undermine trust among people of color so deeply.”

They noted that she had appeared on a conservative-sponsored program and asked, “Are there any outside organizations that Saraswati is working with?”

Saraswati’s case has been likened to that of Rachel Dolezal, a white woman who was exposed in 2015 for years pretending to be black and became president of the NAACP chapter in Spokane, Washington. There is

AFSC chief marketing and communications officer Mark Graham said the organization “gives Raquel the opportunity to address the allegations against her, and Raquel stands by her identity.”

“Raquel also ensures that she remains true to the AFSC’s mission, which we firmly believe in.”

Saraswati’s identity was first questioned by media commentator Sana Saeed, who tweeted in 2015. you know who i mean

Saraswati’s identity was first questioned in 2015, when one cultural commentator called her “the ‘Raquel Dolezal’ of the Islamic community.”

The allegations received new impetus this month.On February 10, the letter appeared on Medium, and on February 16, The Intercept spoke to Saraswati’s mother, Carol Perrone, alleging that her daughter was not of color. Confirmed.

“I call her Rachel,” Perone said. “I have no idea what she’s doing.”

Perone said her daughter is of British, German and Italian descent, and not of Latin, South Asian or Arab descent.

“I am as white as snow, and so is she,” she said.

Perone told the site her daughter converted to Islam in high school.

“I’m German and British and her father was Calabrese from Italy,” her mother added.

“She chose to lie. I’m so sad about it.”

Saraswati herself told conservative media host Glenn Beck in 2007 that she was “estranged” from her family because “for other reasons I can’t know.”

Saraswati’s identity was first questioned by media commentator Sana Saeed (pictured), who tweeted in 2015. you know who i mean

Saraswati posted this image on her Facebook profile in January.

The 39-year-old is seen visiting the pyramids at Giza, Egypt.she claims to be of Arab origin

Saraswati claims to be of Arab descent, but her mother said it wasn’t true

Saraswati is seen addressing a panel in her role as a representative of Philadelphia’s LGBTQ community

Perrone was adopted by Carl and Winifred Seidel, who ran a guesthouse in the Catskill Mountains of Windham, New York.

According to a 1988 newspaper report found by the letter’s author, her biological parents were Ed Newman and Myrtle Burkhardt, an Alliance, Ohio alcoholic, with 18 children, most of whom she gave up for adoption. .

According to Perone, Saraswati’s father is already dead. She had an affair with Flory Perrone, who died in 2006, before marrying him.

Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Saraswati spent a lot of time at Wyndham and attended school before being sent to boarding school in Troy, New York.

Saraswati studied at Simmons College in Boston, settled in Massachusetts, and married his girlfriend An Dao Kolbe in 2005.

In 2004, the couple was mentioned in Boston Globe FeatureSaraswati went by the name Seidel and said she was of Arab and Latin descent.

“Raquel Evita Seidel, 20, of Brookline, said she and her girlfriend Ann Dao Kolbe have been dating for nine months,” the author wrote.

“While they are sure they want to get married, they also want to take the time to plan something that respects Seidel’s Arab and Latin heritage and 33-year-old Kolbe’s Vietnamese heritage.” I want it to be something special,” Seidel said.

Around the time of the article, she changed her name to Saraswati. In 2005, she was belly dancing under her new name.

Her wedding was featured in an article on Indian-American Marriage.

Saraswati is believed to have changed her last name around 2005, when she was a senior at Simmons University. She married later that year, but she divorced and moved to Philadelphia. In April 2019, she was named Woman of the Year by Philadelphia’s National Organization for Women (NOW).

Saraswati’s family history was investigated by the authors of an open letter posted on Medium on Feb. 10

The couple is now divorced and Saraswati moved from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania where she currently lives.

Saraswati promotes the book on her Facebook page

She became more prominent after 9/11, appearing in Beck’s show and the 2013 film produced by the Clarion Project, an organization by the Southern Poverty Law Center that specializes in “feverish anti-Muslim films.” Appeared in

She worked with the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, another group accused of promoting Islamophobia.

In 2017 she said Philly Mag: “Too often, progressive and well-meaning people are shunned by marginalized or targeted communities, such as LGBTQ2SIA people, dissidents, women, minority sects, racial and ethnic minorities, and others. We are allied with organizations and individuals in our communities.’

Her Facebook page promotes a book titled All the White Friends I Couldn’t Keep.

When Saraswati applied for a job at AFSC, Castro said her ethnicity played a role in the decision to appoint Saraswati as Chief Equity, Inclusion and Culture Officer in June 2021.

“Great, people of color, queers of color, who happen to be Muslims, it’s women, all these things, and someone who seemed to understand it,” Castro told The Intercept.

He said he was impressed by her resume and charisma.

“There seemed to be an element of lived experience and understanding, not just for the academic and additional training that comes with being in a position where you are a practitioner of equity and inclusion, but also for lived experience. ” he said.

The AFSC has a history of FBI infiltration, The Intercept points out, and has been targeted by pro-Israeli groups for their activities on the Palestinian cause.

AFSC supporters told The Intercept that they were concerned about Saraswati given her misleading statements about her identity.

An AFSC leader said, “Imagine the trauma of those who confided in her, trusted her, shared confidential information about her work and life, and thought of her as a fellow of color.

“And now, all of a sudden, it’s a white woman with a right-wing history. That’s scary.’