Some weeks ago, I saw a movie that seriously resonated. It was the story of Manny, an Australian stand-up comedian who’d reached the pinnacle of his Australian career and is about to launch into North America.
Manny has it all – a nice car, a gorgeous harbour side apartment, sold-out shows, plenty of money and so much brand recognition that he cannot walk the streets without fans recognising him.
Manny has it all and yet not much. His relationship with his manager is terrific. His relationship with his dad is awful. He has no other relationships.
His manager organises a party. Manny chats with three women enamoured by his comedy, but finds the exercise unfulfilling. Everyone wants to know Manny but only on their terms, only someone famous to take selfies with or to read about as tabloid gossip.
But you don’t have to be famous to suffer extreme loneliness, to walk the earth searching for a way out, to look part of the mainstream while inside feeling on the fringe of the species.
You can be part of a major religious community, with adherents making up almost a quarter of the world’s population and still feel completely alone. Islam teaches we will all be alone when we die. On the Day of Judgment, the loneliness will continue. Our own mothers will ignore us, too worried about the impending judgment.
But why should we be lonely here on earth? Our judgment after death will be in accordance with how we behaved here, on this planet, with each other. We won’t reach paradise purely by securing God’s mercy, even if that is the overwhelming consideration.
The most social times for many believers are the loneliest times for others. I notice that soup kitchens are full at Christmas time, many volunteered by Jews, Muslims and persons of other faiths and none. But apart from such occasions, where do the lonely wonder?
These days, Muslim converts (sometimes called 'reverts' in recognition that they have reverted to the purity they were born with) are regarded almost as security threats. If you believe everything you read in the papers, you’d think every Muslim convert is a naïve kid ripe for 'radicalisation' and saving up for a one way ticket to Syria. Every convert seems to have downloaded competing ISIS and/or al-Qaeda apps and is awaiting instructions for the next mission. Every convert should be stripped of his or her citizenship.
In my experience,