By Jamie Etheridge

the last two nights thousands of people in Kuwait stood in their apartment windows or balconies shouting out Allahu Akbar (God is Great) just before Isha prayer. This happened in Khaitan, Mahboula, Hawally and Salmiya.

The purpose behind the event is unclear. Those who organized or spread the message to call out Allahu Akbar after the curfew began may have merely wanted to remind us all to pray and thank God during these times of crisis. It may have been a way for Kuwait's expatriate Muslim community to show its faith in the face of uncertainty, a communal show of solidarity at a time when we must all cloister in our individual apartments and homes.

Across the world we have seen similar acts of community despite the requirements of #socialdistancing. In Spain, quarantined residents exercised on their individual balconies while a fitness instructor stood on the rooftop below, guiding them. In Iraq, Nujin Hasan played the violin to residents in his apartment complex who were #stayingathome. Children in Italy and in Brooklyn, New York are hanging rainbow art from their home windows to add a moment of positivity and hope to their neighborhoods.

In India, people have already organized clapping on rooftops and balconies as a way to show appreciation for the thousands of doctors, nurses, lab techs and hospital staff who are on the frontlines fighting the coronavirus.

These communal actions, despite the social distancing requirements, speak to the heart of what it means to be human, and especially to be human during a pandemic. Human beings are social animals and we need contact and social interaction, the same way fish need water and birds need the sky. The incredible innovations of the 21st century, the online and virtual worlds, social media and all the ways we connect virtually are now important parts of our lives.

But they do not and cannot fully replace the fundamental need for human contact. Now that contact is forbidden and dangerous, we are finding new and creative ways to 'stay in touch'. Last night on the balconies of apartments across this Muslim land, coreligionists reminded each other that we are here, united in this crisis and that God is Great. We need these shows of togetherness - even if at a distance of 1 meter apart.

Community is one of the greatest strengths of humankind. We have survived and thrived thanks to our ability and willingness to work together in groups. Right now, our need to gather makes us vulnerable. It is a weakness that the coronavirus exploits to its full benefit.

And so we are staying at home, self-quarantining as much as possible and hoping that by flattening the curve of the spread of this virus, we will give more of humankind a chance of surviving. In the meantime, we can still call from our windows or sing from our balconies and clap from our rooftops, to show that no matter how separate we may be, we are all in this together.