The first Friday of Ramadan
Muslims throughout the world are marking the month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar during which devotees fast from dawn till dusk
- Nepalese Muslim pray during the first day of Ramadan at a mosque in Kathmandu, Friday, June 19, 2015. Muslims throughout the world are marking the month of Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar during which devotees fast from dawn till dusk. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
- Indian Muslims offer prayers during the holy Islamic month of Ramadan at a mosque in Allhabad, India, Friday, June 19, 2015. Muslims throughout the world are marking the month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar during which devotees fast from dawn till dusk. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
- A Malaysian Muslim arrives to offer prayers on the first Friday of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan in Kuala Lumpur on June 19, 2015. Tens of millions across the Muslim world fast from dawn to dusk and strive to be more pious and charitable during the month, which ends with the Eid holiday. (AFP Photo/Manan Vatsyayana)
- A Kashmiri Muslim boy looks on during the first day of the holy month of Ramadan at the Shah-i-Hamdaan shrine in downtown Srinagar on June 19, 2015. Across the Muslim world, the faithful fast from dawn to dusk, and abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex during that time as they strive to be more pious and charitable. (AFP Photo/Tauseef Mustafa)
- Thai Muslims pray at the Pattani Central Mosque to mark the holy month of Ramadan in Pattani on June 19, 2015. More than 1.5 billion Muslims around the world will mark the month, during which believers abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex from dawn until sunset. (AFP Photo/Tuwaedaniya Meringing)
- Indian Muslim boys pray in the compound of Jama Masjid on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan in New Delhi, India, Friday, June 19, 2015. Muslims throughout the world are marking the month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar during which devotees fast from dawn till dusk. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
- Muslims offer Friday prayers at a mosque on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan in the eastern Indian city of Bhubaneswar, India, Friday, June 19, 2015. Muslims throughout the world are marking the month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar during which devotees fast from dawn till dusk. (AP Photo/Biswaranjan Rout)
- A Kashmiri Muslim man touches in reverence a chain at the entrance to the shrine of Shah Hamadan on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, June 19, 2015. Muslims throughout the world are marking the month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar during which devotees fast from dawn till dusk. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
- Indonesian Muslim men gather during the first Friday pray of the fasting month of Ramadan at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, June 19, 2015. During Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from dawn till dusk. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
- Kashmiri Muslim women pray outside Shah Hamadan Shrine on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, June 19, 2015. Muslims throughout the world are marking the month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar during which devotees fast from dawn till dusk. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
- Kashmiri children look on during the first day of the holy month of Ramadan at the Shah-i-Hamdaan shrine in downtown Srinagar on June 19, 2015. Across the Muslim world, the faithful fast from dawn to dusk, and abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex during that time as they strive to be more pious and charitable. (AFP Photo/Tauseef Mustafa)
- Pakistani Muslims offer first Friday prayers during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan at the masjid Wazir Khan in Lahore on June 19, 2015. 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. (AFP Photo/Arif Ali)
- Pakistani Muslims arrive to offer first Friday prayers during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan at the masjid Wazir Khan in Lahore on June 19, 2015. 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. (AFP Photo/Arif Ali)
- Muslims leave Wilayah Mosque after the Friday prayer during the holy Islamic month of Ramadan in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Friday, June 19, 2015. During Ramadan, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from dawn to dusk. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
- An elderly man reads verses of the Quran, Islam’s holy book, on the first day of the fasting month of Ramadan in the Grand Mosque in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, June 18, 2015. The fast is intended to bring the faithful closer to God and to remind them of the suffering of those less fortunate. Muslims often donate to charities during the month and feed the hungry. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
- Indian Muslims offer prayers on the first Friday of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan at a mosque in Allhabad, India, Friday, June 19, 2015.Muslims throughout the world are marking the month of Ramadan, the holiest month on the Islamic calendar during which devotees fast from dawn till dusk. (AP Photo/ Rajesh Kumar Singh)
- A Nepalese Muslim takes a rest as he waits for the first Friday prayers of Ramadan at a mosque in Kathmandu, Friday, June 19, 2015. Muslims throughout the world are marking the month of Ramadan, the holiest month on the Islamic calendar during which devotees fast from dawn till dusk. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
- Thousands of Turkish people break their fasting on June 18, 2015 at the Blue Mosque square in Istanbul, during the first day of the holy month of Ramadan. During Ramadan, Muslim believers abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex from dawn until sunset. Ramadan is sacred to Muslims because it is during that month that tradition says the Koran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed. The fast is one of the five main religious obligations under Islam. (AFP Photo/P /ozan )
- Bangladeshi street vendors prepare Iftar food for breaking the daytime fast on the first day of Ramadan, the holy fasting month of Islam, at a traditional bazaar in the old part of Dhaka on July 19, 2015. Like millions of Muslim around the world, Bangladeshi Muslims celebrate the month of Ramadan by abstaining from eating, drinking, and smoking as well as sexual activities from dawn to dusk. (AFP Photo/P / )
- A Bangladeshi vendor, right, sells food items for Iftar, the evening meal for breaking the daily fast at a market area on the first day of Ramadan in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, June 19, 2015. Muslims across the world are observing the holy fasting month of Ramadan, where they refrain from eating, drinking and smoking from dawn to dusk. (AP photo/A.M. Ahad)