Campus Connections
Meet Patty Anton
Muslim Peace Fellowship
Patty Anton
It has been about a year since the conversation began between Stony Point Center (SPC) and Patty Anton, board member of the Muslim Peace Fellowship (MPF), which is now partnering with the other faith traditions to create the Community of Living Traditions at SPC. “It is an exciting time for us all” says Patty, and she is looking forward to being a part of the vision here at SPC. Patty is intrigued with the unique model of CLT, especially during this crucial time when the message of peace and nonviolence needs to be spread.
As with all members of the CLT team, Patty is a volunteer at SPC. She works at the front desk, helps with transportation and is on the Program team, which plans and develops all the SPC sponsored programs.
Community of Living Traditions is a three legged stool.
Luke 6 Project (Christian Tradition)
Muslim Peace Fellowship (Muslim Tradition)
Shomer Shalom (Jewish Tradition)
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All three faith traditions will be struggling with some important question:
what is a spiritual life?
what is spiritual discipline?
how do we connect with God?
what traditions will we share?
what traditions are sacred and need to stay within the faith?
As we live and work together, we will grow in knowledge of each faith tradition and expand our connection and understanding of our God.
Within each faith tradition, the practices are many and varied. “If you are trying to go in depth in your tradition, you usually do it in corners” says Patty. “It is easier to delve deeper with smaller groups. I think the vision of CLT is interesting, because now you have people coming across traditions. Let’s be together, recognizing that we are trying to go spiritually deeper and connecting it with our actions outwardly” Patty says. According to Patty, this whole idea is not new. “It is a centuries-old reality that we are revisiting in contemporary times in a different way, with a specific vision of working together for social justice and peace.”
Patty has traveled extensively over the years. Much of that travel has been in the Middle East. She has also gone to Sri Lanka to help after the Tsunami hit there, giving humanitarian assistance to many in need. Patty has studied Arabic in Jordan, and has been there with the United States Institute of Peace. She has also traveled to Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Patty tells of a small village in Syria that is visited by many faith traditions. They roam the streets and historic sites together learning about the ancient history and spiritual significance of this little village. “Many faiths, learning together. CLT is much like that village, as we all work and learn together in peace."
Patty talked about the inward and the outward of spiritual practices. She talked about the spiritual discipline of self restraint and how that connects to conflicts and the spiritual state of our hearts and our interactions with others. It really comes down to an old cliché we have all heard “Practice what you preach." It is important to take what is inside of your spiritual self and put it into actions.
When and if Patty gets some free time, she loves to be outdoors. One of her objectives while visiting this area is to do some canoeing or kayaking. Growing up, horses were a big part of Patty’s life. Her parents still live in Medina, Ohio and have three horses, including “Chelsea Love” who Patty rode while growing up. “Chelsea is an old girl now and retired." Patty is looking forward to seeing her family and her Chelsea Love on her next visit home.
Patty has not had much time to enjoy her baking skills since arriving at SPC, but when the other volunteers read this, that may change. She enjoys reading spiritual books and learning Arabic. Patty has taken some online courses and enjoys listening to Arabic to help her learn more about the language. She sometimes communicates in Arabic on Facebook, to help keep her skills honed. Patty does not get to the movies much, but she likes to laugh. “As long as the movie is respectful” she adds.
Being so close to New York City, I asked Patty what she would like to see in NYC. She replied, while laughing “If you really want to know what I want to do, it is to get on one of those horses (without the buggy) and ride around Central Park," then she added “But I don’t really think it is going to be an option!”
When questioned about what she thinks are the major misconceptions about Muslims Patty said “I think that people’s real knowledge and experience is very limited. Some people think we do not believe in God or we worship Muhammad.” Patty added. “That is the most central thing in Islam - the belief in one God, Creator of the universe. We love and respect religious leaders and the prophets, but we do not worship them.”
In all faith traditions, food is an integral part. There are entire books written on this subject. The most common Muslim shared food tradition throughout the world is dates. “It was the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), to break a fast with dates. They are very high in sugar. Like most faiths, there are taboo foods for Muslims, like no pork or alcohol is allowed.”
The way food is prepared is very important, even from the beginning, how the animals are treated and the process in the slaughter house. There is a whole set of laws governing the treatment of animals for slaughter. Green Zabiha is a good resource to learn more about the halal method. Going to the supermarket is not a good option for buying meat, as you have no idea how the animal was slaughtered. There are places like specialty shops that guarantee the good treatment of the animal.
There is a spiritual component to the food we eat. Kosher food is known to be acceptable for Muslims in general. The Jewish tradition in processing food is much like the Muslim way. “Actually preparing Kosher food has a lot more rules than we do” Patty says. The main thing is that it is processed in the name of our God.
The rules mentioned are not followed by all Muslims. Just like other faith traditions, people follow different paths and keep different traditions sacred.
With all the rules about meat processing, I asked Patty if maybe we would find more vegetarians in the Muslim faith. “Not really, because of the culture many come from." What people like to do is eat in their favorite kabob style ethnic restaurants or prepare meals at home where they know exactly how things are prepared and where the meat came from. If, for example, some Muslims go to a fast food burger place, they would order a fish sandwich, as that is safe to eat.
“There are unseen meta-physical connections to the physical practices that we do” Patty says. She continues “It matters what you put into you, as it affects your state’. “That’s the nice thing about being here at Stony Point Center; SPC is very conscious about organic and local food processing. I think as a society, this is what we need to get back to; the food industry in many ways is detrimental in ways we don’t even realize."
Patty’s favorite dish growing up, and still is, is Thanksgiving dinner! She LOVES her Mom’s stuffing. “Turkey stuffing is the meal of the year and I always try to get Mom to make it for any occasion." Patty likes to try new foods and she has traveled a lot and tried all sorts of ethnic foods. One of her favorites is Thai food. She loves coconut milk and peanut sauce and any dish with these in it! “Coconut and spice and peanut sauce are beautiful with a Thai iced tea on the side, Mmmmm.”
I asked Patty what her ultimate favorite dessert was and she told me that there is a fruit in Sri Lanka called mangosteen which is very sweet. Her junk food tradition, when taking a road trip, is Hostess cherry pie. She reminded me that this is not often and it is getting harder to find those pies in the stores.
When in the Arab world, her road trip traditional treat is the intense Turkish coffee with Cadbury fruit and nut chocolate. “Occasionally I will indulge in Fig Newtons,” Patty says. “And not the reduced fat kind either,” she added as we laughed together.
If you want to learn more about Patty and the Muslim faith tradition, you can check the Facebook page for Muslim Peace Fellowship . There are some great resource links there, where you can expand your knowledge.
Peace, Salaam. Shalom
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