Family members of race-faking white Muslim reveal life before LIES

2023-02-22

Race-faking Muslim inclusion officer was white until boarding school, where she became ‘intrigued’ by her Turkish roommate’s faith and began changing her appearance and LYING about her ethnicity, family says

Family members of Raquel Saraswati, 39, revealed her ‘life before the lies’ and said that she’d frequent church and is of ‘British, German, and Italian’ descent
They claim that she began changing her appearance after meeting her Turkish roommate at boarding school – after which she rejected her family publicly
She’s accused of lying about her apparent Latin, South Asian and Arab descent – the American Friends Service Committee, who employ her, say they ‘believe her’

Family members of a race-faking white Muslim social justice activist have claimed she turned her back on her heritage after attending boarding school and becoming ‘intrigued’ by her Turkish roommate’s faith.

Raquel Saraswati, 39, has been accused of lying about her alleged ‘Latin, South Asian, Arab’ descent – her biological mother confirming that she is in fact ‘British, German and Italian.’

The 39-year-old was ‘outed’ by a ‘a group of individuals who care deeply’ about the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) where she works. Her employer have said they still ‘believe her.’

Members of Saraswati’s family – who were privy to her life before the ‘fraudulent’ claims – exclusively told DailyMail.com that her new life began to take shape while she attended the prestigious Emma Willard school in Troy, New York.

Raquel Saraswati, 39, has been accused of lying about her alleged ‘Latin, South Asian, Arab’ descent – her biological mother confirming that she is in fact ‘British, German and Italian’

From a blonde, blue, eyed ‘true blue American kid’ to a social justice advocate who some have accused of ‘cultural vulturism,’ a member of Saraswati’s family unit said the drastic changes she’s witnessed are nothing less than ‘crazy.’

The family member has asked to keep her identity anonymous, after alleged backlash from Saraswati who is believed to have confronted her mother Carol Perone, after she revealed her ‘true’ ancestry.

Saraswati’s relative, who claims to have watched the 39-year-old grow from the age of three till she started to attend the scholarship-funded private girl’s school said she remembers Saraswati, who went by Rachel Seidel then, as a ‘bright and terribly creative’ young woman.

‘She was a very bright and terribly creative young woman,’ they said.

‘She went to a small public school where everybody knew her and then she went to a private school and no one there was American – most were European or eastern European.’

They went on to say that this is where Saraswati met her roommate, a friend from Turkey, named Fatima who followed the Muslim faith.

‘Her junior year at school she had a roommate that was from Turkey who was Muslim and Rachel was very intrigued by that culture, she was a very inquisitive kid,’ they explained.

‘Rachel converted to the Muslim religion while at school and we never found out because she was boarding there… we found out much later that this was her new persona.’

Saraswati’s early years were a stark contrast, however, growing up in a Christian household.

Pictures provided by family members show a young Saraswati with blonde hair and a visibly paler complexion.

Her hair appears to have become darker as she grew older, but her complexion remains the same.

Photos revealed by DailyMail.com from the early 2000s show Saraswati with a similar pale complexion, thin eyebrows and a light blush.

However, Saraswati’s appearance begins to morph, as she publicly rejects her heritage and starts to claim she is Latin, South Asian or of Arab descent.

Pictures provided by family members show a young Saraswati with blonde/brown hair and a visibly paler complexion

Saraswati’s early years were a stark contrast, however, growing up in a Christian household

The family have not spoken to Saraswati, who they say they last saw at her graduation

‘Rachel was a very sweet, loving child. She went to church with us and she belonged to several different church clubs,’ they said.

‘We all had the expectation that she was going to do great things because she was bright and politically astute but what we didn’t know was it would be in a fraudulent manner.’

The relative told DailyMail.com that the entire family have been ‘shocked’ and ‘saddened’ by the entire situation believing that at one time they had been ‘close to Saraswati.

In 2007, Saraswati herself, told conservative media host Glenn Beck she was ‘estranged’ from her family, ‘for reasons that I can’t get into.’

‘It’s curious and bizarre,’ they relative said.

‘The comments to Glenn Beck were really bizarre because she said she was estranged from her family.

‘I felt very sad because, we thought wrongly, that we were very close to Rachel and that she was a very bright politically astute woman.

‘She went about all of this the wrong way.

‘There was no way we had no relationship with her. Her friends, who would continue to see us all, still asked us how she was doing and we embarrassingly had to admit we didn’t know.’

The family have not spoken to Saraswati, who they say they last saw at her graduation.

‘We went to her graduation, had lunch with her and never saw her again.’

The family stressed that they have never tried to ‘out’ Saraswati’s ‘double life.’

‘Her mother really had no influence on this information surfacing, her double life, well we knew about it for a while and nobody tried to correct it,’ they said.

‘It came from people concerned about where she worked who suspected something wasn’t quite right.

‘We have always said it’s a crazy, crazy situation and the people that we know and knew her growing up also agree that it’s just crazy.’

When seeking comments from the AFSC on Saraswati’s employment, the company sent a statement which said: ‘For over a century, the American Friends Service Committee has worked worldwide with people from all faiths, ethnicities, races, and backgrounds for lasting peace with justice.’

‘Through our history and continuing today, AFSC has brought the Quaker belief in equity and the divine light in every person into vital work across the U.S. and around the world.

‘We see ending all forms of racism as a critical part of this work both within our organization and in the world.’

When speaking to Saraswati, who works as the company’s chief equity, inclusion, and culture officer they said she remains ‘loyal’ to the mission.

‘[She] is currently facing public allegations that she misrepresented her background and past associations. She assures us that she remains loyal to AFSC’s mission, and we believe her.

‘This is a deeply personal issue and as her employer we respect her privacy. We do not require any employee to prove their race or ethnicity as a condition of employment. That would be unethical and illegal.’

At this time the company are ‘considering ways to move forward in a thoughtful and humane way’ saying their ‘taking in many perspectives.’

‘We must do our best to hear each other, to act with kindness, grace, integrity, and care for all individuals. These are the values at the core of AFSC.’

‘I definitely feel conned. I feel deceived,’ Oskar Pierre Castro, a human resources professional who participated in the search committee to fill Saraswati’s position, said to The Intercept.

Saraswati’s appearance appears to change through the 00s. She’s seen pictured here with Ryan Bowker (left) and Ali Abbas (right), winners of the National ‘Courage’ Grants in 2007

The 39-year-old was seen rubbing shoulders with celebrities – like here with Jodie Foster (left) she’s also seen with Nathan Lane (right) after receiving an accolade

Saraswati, hired by a Philadelphia-based Quaker group as their Chief Equity, Inclusion and Culture Officer, has claimed to be of Arab, Latina and South Asian descent

Saraswati appears to have begun claiming Indian ancestry around 2005. She is pictured celebrating the election of Kamala Harris, the first Indian American vice president

Saraswati’s identity was first questioned in 2015, when a cultural commentator referred to her as ‘the ‘Raquel Dolezal’ in the Muslim community’

An open letter from the anonymous group provided an in-depth analysis of the 39-year-old’s ancestry and her work, and expressed concern about her role.

They accused Saraswati – who converted to Islam in high school, and has since come out as gay – of ‘cultural vulturism’, and noted ‘the shades of bronzer she applies to her face have become darker over time’.

This claim appears to be true the early 2000 picture showing a younger Saraswati with her hair pulled back and only a small amount of makeup on her cheeks.

The authors of the damning open letter called on AFSC to investigate ‘why a member of its most senior leadership has so profoundly eroded trust among people of color’.

They noted her appearance on conservative-hosted shows, and asked: ‘Are there external entities with whom Saraswati is collaborating?’

Saraswati’s case is being likened to that of Rachel Dolezal, a white woman, who in 2015 was exposed as having posed for years as black, rising to become president of an NAACP chapter in Spokane, Washington.

Mark Graham, AFSC’s chief marketing and communications officer, said the organization ‘has given Raquel the opportunity to address the allegations against her, and Raquel stands by her identity.’

He added: ‘Raquel also assures us that she remains loyal to AFSC’s mission, which we firmly believe.’

Saraswati’s identity was first questioned by media commentator Sana Saeed, who tweeted in 2015: ‘Can we talk about ‘Raquel Dolezal’ in the Muslim community. Y’all know who I mean.’

The allegations were given fresh impetus this month. On Feb 10, the letter was published on Medium, and on Feb 16 The Intercept spoke to Saraswati’s biological mother, Carol Perone, who confirmed her daughter was not a person of color.

‘I call her Rachel,’ said Perone. ‘I don’t know why she’s doing what she’s doing.’

Perone said her daughter is of ‘British, German, and Italian descent’ — not Latin, South Asian, or Arab as she claims.

‘I’m as white as the driven snow and so is she,’ she said.

Perone told the site that her daughter converted to Islam in high school, which likely informed her decision to present herself as another ethnicity.

‘I’m German and British, and her father was Calabrese Italian,’ her mother added.

‘She’s chosen to live a lie, and I find that very, very sad.’

Saraswati herself, in 2007, told conservative media host Glenn Beck she was ‘estranged’ from her family, ‘for other reasons that I can’t get into’.

Perone was adopted by Carl and Winifred Seidel, who ran a guesthouse in the Catskill mountains, in Windham, New York.

Saraswati’s grandparent’s were Ed Newman and Myrtle Burkhardt – an alcoholic of Alliance, Ohio, who had 18 children, and put most of them up for adoption, according to a 1988 newspaper report found by the authors of the letter.

Perone said Saraswati’s father is now dead. She had a relationship with him before marrying Flory Perone, who died in 2006.

Ms Saraswati’s identity was first questioned by media commentator Sana Saeed (pictured) who tweeted in 2015: ‘Can we talk about ‘Raquel Dolezal’ in the Muslim community. Y’all know who I mean’

Perone told the site that her daughter converted to Islam in high school, which likely informed her decision to present herself as another ethnicity

Perone was adopted by Carl and Winifred Seidel, who ran a guesthouse in the Catskill mountains, in Windham, New York

Saraswati posted this image to her Facebook profile in January, in a t-shirt captioned: ‘I’m rooting for everybody black and trans’

Saraswati was born in Paterson, New Jersey and spend large amounts of time in Windham, where she attended school before being sent to boarding school in Troy, New York.

She studied at Simmons University in Boston, settling in Massachusetts and marrying her girlfriend, Anh Dao Kolbe in 2005.

In 2004, the couple was mentioned in a Boston Globe feature, in which Saraswati 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, Anh Dao Kolbe, have been together nine months,’ the author wrote.

‘While they are confident they want to marry, they also want to take the time to plan something that respects Seidel’s Arab and Latin traditions and 33-year-old Kolbe’s Vietnamese traditions.

‘We want it to be something special, not about hype and not about media,’ Seidel said.’

Sometime around the time of the article, she switched her name to Saraswati. In 2005, she was performing belly dances under her new name.

Her wedding was featured in an article about Indian-American marriages.

The couple are now divorced, and Saraswati moved from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania, where she now lives.

She took on a higher profile after 9/11, appearing on Beck’s show and in a 2013 film produced by the Clarion Project, an organization the Southern Poverty Law Center said specialized in ‘rabidly anti-Muslim films.’

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

Saraswati has claimed Arab descent, but her mother said that is not true

In a public post in Nov last year, Saraswati appeared to back her claims of being Latin, South Asian, or Arab. The post shows her MyHeritage AI results

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

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

Saraswati’s family history was researched by the writers of the open letter, posted on February 10 on Medium

In 2017, she told Philly Mag: ‘All too often, progressive and well-meaning people ally with organizations and individuals in marginalized or targeted communities without consulting those on the margins of those communities — like LGBTQ2SIA people, dissidents, women, minority sects, racial and ethnic minorities, etc.’

On her Facebook page, she promotes a book entitled: ‘All the White Friends I Couldn’t Keep.’

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

Saraswati promotes this book on her Facebook page

‘Great, a person of color, a queer person of color, who happens to be a Muslim, it’s a woman, all these things, and someone who seemed to get it,’ Castro told The Intercept.

He said he was impressed by her resume and her charisma.

‘It seemed that there was an element of lived experience and understanding because of the lived experience, not just the academic and extra training that come with being in a position where you are an equity and inclusion practitioner,’ he said.

The AFSC has a history of being infiltrated by the FBI, The Intercept noted, and has been targeted by pro-Israel groups due to its work on the Palestinian cause.

Supporters of the AFSC told The Intercept they are now concerned about Saraswati, given the misleading statements she made about her identity.

‘Imagine the trauma of people who confided in her, trusted her, and shared sensitive information about their work and about their lives, thinking that she’s a fellow person of color,’ an AFSC leader.

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

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