Raquel Evita Saraswati

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Raquel Evita Saraswati is a reform-minded practicing Muslim, and the vice-president of Project Ijtihad, a global organization dedicated to reviving ijtihad, Islam's lost tradition of critical thinking. Project Ijtihad (www.muslim-refusenik.com) seeks to spur a reform in Islam by challenging authoritarianism and encouraging Muslims, particularly young women, to think critically. Project Ijtihad is inspired by the Qu'ran's divine imperative: "Believers, conduct yourselves with justice and bear true witness before God, even if it be against yourselves, your parents, or your family." (4:135).

Saraswati became involved with Project Ijtihad after discovering that she had been placed on a blog list of "Sixteen Women who Shame Islam" with death threats to follow. Facing persecution based on her image, sexual orientation (Saraswati is openly lesbian) and for speaking her mind, she was propelled headfirst into the reform movement. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Center for New Words (an organization promoting the power of women's words and literacy), the Steering Committee of Boston MASALA (for LGBTQ South Asians), and she is a bilingual counselor to HIV/AIDS positive Latinos. She has served on the national board of directors of GLSEN, and has toured as a spoken word artist and dancer. Raquel Evita lives online at www.raquelevita.com and www.myspace.com/raquelevita.