Muslims around the world mark the start of Ramadan
Islam’s holy month of Ramadan is celebrated by Muslims worldwide marked by fasting, abstaining from foods, sex and smoking from dawn to dusk for soul cleansing and strengthening the spiritual bond between them and the Almighty.
- Indonesian Muslims hold prayers on the first night of the holy month of Ramadan at the Istiqlal mosque in Jakarta on July 9, 2013. Islam’s holy month of Ramadan is celebrated by Muslims worldwide marked by fasting, abstaining from foods, sex and smoking from dawn to dusk for soul cleansing and strengthening the spiritual bond between them and the Almighty. (Adek Berry/Getty Images)
- Muslims attend an evening communal prayer session called “Tarawih” to mark the holy fasting month of Ramadan at the Bajrakli mosque in Belgrade July 9, 2013. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)
- A Rohingya Muslim illegal immigrant cries as he prays at the Immigration Detention Centre during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Kanchanaburi province July 10, 2013. More than a hundred Rohingya Muslims gathered to pray and break fast as they welcome the first day of Ramadan in Thailand. The stateless people arrived in Thailand earlier in January this year after fleeing a bloody conflict between the Buddhist and Muslims in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State. (Athit Perewongmetha/Reuters)
- Afghan children read and memorize the Koran at a mosque in Jalalabad on July 10, 2013, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Muslims all over the world are supposed to go without food, drink and smoking from sunrise to sunset during the holy month of Ramadan in order to purify themselves and concentrate their mind on Islamic teachings. (Noorullah Shirzada/Getty Images)
- A woman sells onions in the market of Abobo, a suburb of Abidjan on July 9, 2013 on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Ivory Coast. The holy month of Ramadan, during which Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, begins with the sighting of the new moon, which varies from country to country. (Issouf Sanogo/Getty Images)
- Women sells cucumbers as people carry fish and bread loaves on their heads in the market of Abobo, a suburb of Abidjan on July 9, 2013 on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Ivory Coast. The holy month of Ramadan, during which Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, begins with the sighting of the new moon, which varies from country to country. (Issouf Sanogo/Getty Images)
- Turkish anti government protesters gather as they break their first day of fasting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Istiklal street, the main shopping corridor, on July 9, 2013 in Istanbul. During the month devout Muslims must abstain from food, drink and sex from dawn until sunset, when they break the fast with the meal known as Iftar. (Bulent Kilic/Getty Images)
- A child is seen near members of the Muslim community attending midday prayers at Strasbourg Grand Mosque in Strasbourg on the first day of Ramadan July 9, 2013. The Grand Mosque of Paris has fixed the first day of Ramadan as Wednesday, splitting with the French Council of Muslim Religion (Conseil Francais du Culte Musulman or CFCM), which determined it would begin on Tuesday. (Vincent Kessler/Reuters)
- Workers clean the floor of the Badshahi Mosque ahead of the holy month of Ramadan in Lahore, July 9, 2013. (Mohsin Raza/Reuters)
- Supporter of the deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi pray before they eat their Iftar meals on the first day of Ramadan, during a sit-in in Cairo July 10, 2013. The White House said on Wednesday it will take time to determine whether the Egyptian military’s removal of Mursi constituted a coup, and called on the military to exercise restraint. (Suhaib Salem/Reuters)
- A man walks through a closed market on the first day of Ramadan, the sacred holy month for Muslims where many will fast from sun-up to sun-down on July 10, 2013 in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt continues to be in a state of political paralysis following the ousting of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi by the military. Adly Mansour, chief justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court, was sworn in as the interim head of state in a ceremony in Cairo on the morning of July 4. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
- Indonesian Muslims leave after prayers at a mosque on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan in Jakarta on July 10, 2013. Islam’s holy month of Ramadan is celebrated by Muslims worldwide marked by fasting, abstaining from foods, sex and smoking from dawn to dusk for soul cleansing and strengthening the spiritual bond between them and the Almighty. (Adek Berry/Getty Images)
- People sell sweets during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Sanaa, July 10, 2013. Muslims in Yemen begin fasting on Wednesday. (Mohamed al-Sayaghi/Reuters)
- Rohingya Muslim illegal immigrants pray at the Immigration Detention Centre during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Kanchanaburi province July 10, 2013. More than a hundred Rohingya Muslims gathered to pray and break fast as they welcome the first day of Ramadan in Thailand. The stateless people arrived in Thailand earlier in January this year after fleeing a bloody conflict between the Buddhist and Muslims in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State. (Athit Perewongmetha/Reuters)
- Muslims attend an evening communal prayer session called “Tarawih” to mark the holy fasting month of Ramadan at the Bajrakli mosque in Belgrade July 9, 2013. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)
- Laborers sit down before their first iftar, or breaking-fast, meal during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan at an iftar tent in Riyadh July 10, 2013. (Faisal Al Nasser/Reuters)
- Muslim women attend an evening mass prayer session called “tarawih” to mark the holy fasting month of Ramadan, which will begin on Wednesday, at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta July 9, 2013. (Enny Nuraheni/Reuters)
- Muslims attend an evening mass prayer session called “tarawih” to mark the holy fasting month of Ramadan, which will begin on Wednesday, at Al Markaz Al Islami Mosque in Makassar July 9, 2013. (Yusuf Ahmad, Reuters)
- An Afghan man prays after breaking his fast on the first day of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, at a mosque in Kabul July 10, 2013. (Omar Sobhani/Reuters)
- Afghan men wait for their free evening meal during Iftar at the Eidga mosque in Kabul on July 10, 2013, during the Islamic month of Ramadan. Throughout the month devout Muslims must abstain from food, drink and sex from dawn until sunset when they break the fast with the Iftar meal. (Shah Marai/Getty Images)
- An Afghan Muslim prepares the free evening meal during Iftar at the Eidga mosque in Kabul on July 10, 2013, during the Islamic month of Ramadan. Throughout the month devout Muslims must abstain from food, drink and sex from dawn until sunset when they break the fast with the Iftar meal. (Shah Marai/Getty Images)
- Turkish anti government protesters gather as they break their first day of fasting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Istiklal street, the main shopping corridor, on July 9, 2013 in Istanbul. (Bulent Kilic/Getty Images)
- Indonesian Muslims perform prayers known as Tarawih at a mosque on July 9, 2013 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Muslims must fast in the month of Ramadan from dawn until sunset, when they break the fast with the meal known as Iftar, and some also perform Tarawih prayers, which are voluntary. ( Syamsul Bahri Muhammad/Getty Images)
- Pakistani Muslim men clean the floor of a mosque on the eve of Ramadan in Karachi on July 10, 2013. Islam’s holy month of Ramadan is celebrated by Muslims worldwide marked by fasting, abstaining from foods, sex and smoking from dawn to dusk for soul cleansing and strengthening the spiritual bond between them and the Almighty. (Rizwan Tabassum/Getty Images)
- Indonesian disabled students reads a copy of a Koran with braille alphabet on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan in Malang city East Java on July 10, 2013. Islam’s holy month of Ramadan is celebrated by Muslims worldwide marked by fasting, abstaining from foods, sex and smoking from dawn to dusk for soul cleansing and strengthening the spiritual bond between them and the Almighty. (Aman Rochman/Getty Images)
- An Indian Muslim woman prays at Jama Masjid on the eve of Ramadan in New Delhi on July 10, 2013. Islam’s holy month of Ramadan is calculated on the sighting of the new moon and Muslims all over the world are supposed to fast from dawn to dusk during the month. (Raveendran/Getty Images)
- An Indonesian Muslim man prays at a mosque on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan in Jakarta on July 10, 2013. Islam’s holy month of Ramadan is celebrated by Muslims worldwide marked by fasting, abstaining from foods, sex and smoking from dawn to dusk for soul cleansing and strengthening the spiritual bond between them and the Almighty. (Adek Berry/Getty Images)
- Palestinians walk before attending the evening prayer during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the old city of Jerusalem on July 9, 2013. During Ramadan, one of the five main religious obligations under Islam, Muslims are required to abstain from food and from drinking liquids, smoking and having sex from dawn until dusk. (Ahmad Gharabli/Getty Images)
- A pastry chef holds a tray of Arabic sweets at his bakery in Gaza City on the eve of the start of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, on July 9, 2013. During Ramadan, one of the five main religious obligations under Islam, Muslims are required to abstain from food and from drinking liquids, smoking and having sex from dawn until dusk. (Mohammed Abed/Getty Images)
- Indonesian Muslim women hold prayers on the first night of the holy month of Ramadan at the Istiqlal mosque in Jakarta on July 9, 2013. Islam’s holy month of Ramadan is celebrated by Muslims worldwide marked by fasting, abstaining from foods, sex and smoking from dawn to dusk for soul cleansing and strengthening the spiritual bond between them and the Almighty. (Adek Berry/Getty Images)
- Egyptians shop in a market on the eve of Ramadan, the sacred holy month for Muslims where many will fast from sun-up to sun-down, on July 9, 2013 in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt continues to be in a state of political paralysis following the ousting of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi by the military. Adly Mansour, chief justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court, was sworn in as the interim head of state in a ceremony in Cairo on the morning of July 4. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
- An Indonesian Muslim man reads the Quran at a mosque on July 9, 2013 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Muslims must fast in the month of Ramadan from dawn until sunset, when they break the fast with the meal known as Iftar. (Syamsul Bahri Muhammad/Getty Images)