Meet an innoFaither is our series to introduce the inspiring optimists in the innoFaith world and what they’re working on and thinking about. We hope it helps you find and engage with each other across the network to advance faith-rooted social innovation and interfaith collaboration for social impact. Or just meet some cool people.
Meet Sadaf Taimur, mother, PhD student, Dalai Lama Fellow, and passionate advocate, educator, and innovator. Sadaf previously developed a project to address gender discrimination in education in her native Pakistan. Now she is engaged in action-oriented research on transformative sustainability education, which recently won her a Green Talents Award from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
What faith(s), if any, do you practice? Is your faith or practice bringing special inspiration or insight for you in this current moment?
I am a Muslim. I try to take lessons from my religion to guide my way of living or my deeds. Because that is my focus, people usually perceive me as not being religious.
I was born in Pakistan and grew up as a Muslim girl. My country had faced a decade of terrorism, and these terrorist practices were mostly linked to religious intolerance and inability to accept differences regarding basic religious duties to God, e.g. the way we stand while praying or the mosques we go to or the way we interpret our religion, etc. During that time, I used to question myself: This is definitely not Islam! Is this the religion I know?
I have been told throughout my life that Islam is the religion of forgiveness and peace. My mom told me once that “God is so forgiving that the love of God for his people is equal to the love of 70 mothers. Imagine having 70 mothers taking care of you together. You may be forgiven by God for violating his rights, which you need to fulfill, like praying or pilgrimage, but you will never be forgiven if you violate the rights of fellow human beings.” Then why would people kill or violate the rights of other people in the name of religion?
I realized that religion is about providing guidelines. It is about inculcating morality and inner values among people for creating an ethical system in society. If we keep taking literal meanings or get stuck in pointing out minute differences in our interpretation of the same religion, that will destroy us! It is therefore not sufficient to be pious without performing deeds which demonstrate one's beliefs.
God created human beings with a brain and there must be a purpose for that. Science agrees that every human being is different, and their interpretations of their experiences will also be different as every human being filters these experiences through the lens of their pre-existing worldviews. This lens of pre-existing worldviews is formed by our social, cultural, environmental, genetic make-up, and we can’t logically expect this lens to be the same for everyone. There will always be minor discrepancies when it comes to interpretation of religion by different people, even from the same religion. I have four siblings with whom I grew up in the same conditions, and even we have some discrepancies in the interpretation of our religion.
Therefore, I have always taken metaphorical lessons from my religion, e.g. helping people and other beings in need, inculcating values like integrity, courage, empathy, resilience, respect and patience in my daily life, and doing what my conscience allows. Taking literal lessons will only push us towards intolerance, radicalization, exclusion, injustice and violence.
Where do you live?
I am currently based in Kashiwa, Japan.
What's your favorite pastime?
During my free time, I like visiting quiet and natural places where I get some time to reflect not only on my professional stuff but also my personal life and goals. These spaces, like a beach or bamboo forest, allow me to ask big questions of myself, and that brings clarity in my life.
What are you working on currently?
I am a Doctoral Scholar at The University of Tokyo, Japan, and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Research Fellow. My research is about sustainability education to transform people, through autonomous thinking and empowerment, in order to enable them to contribute toward sustainability of the planet.
Additionally, based on the needs identified by educators during the COVID-19 pandemic, I am working on building a research-based digital platform to support the implementation of education for sustainability innovation with learners in virtual settings. I also chair the Youth General Assembly, a social movement to train and mobilize young people to work on the UN’s Sustainable Development Agenda.
Most of all, I am raising a son who is a teenager now and a feminist. I would say, raising a son is teaching me new things every day.
What question are you thinking about these days?
Lately, I am questioning a lot of things…
I am thinking about what my priorities are. My brain always has multiple tabs open, and these days I am trying to figure out which tabs are important and which tabs shall be closed.
I am also thinking about what I really want to do. I always loved seeing people feeling empowered, I directed my research in this direction and now I am also thinking about what I really need to do in future? I have started to build my future plan around the tasks I enjoy working on most.
Another question which keeps crossing my mind, perhaps because of my work is: How can I create spaces for adult learning (specific focus on youth) to foster co-creation, authenticity, value creation, value based learning, collaboration, respect and tolerance.
How can people find you?