All over the world Muslims have begun their holiest month of the year by fasting from dawn until dusk each day, broken each evening by large, communal meals. The start of Ramadan is earlier each year because it is calculated based on the sighting of the new moon, which begins the Muslim lunar month. Muslims use
the time to reevaluate their lives through the scope of Islamic doctrine. -- Lloyd Young
Ramadan at a mosque in the West Bank city of Jenin on July 20. Muslims from Morocco to Afghanistan
are steeling themselves for the toughest Ramadan in more than three decades with no food or drink,
not even a sip of water, for 14 hours a day during the hottest time of the year.
(Mohammed Ballas/Associated Press)
prayer session "Tarawih" marking the beginning of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in a masjid in Makassar of Indonesia's South Sulawesi province on July 20. The Indonesian government set Ramadan to fall on July 21. (Yusuf Ahmad/Reuters) 
Kashmiri Muslims offer prayers next to parked cars on a road outside a mosque on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan in Srinagar on July 21. (Danish Ismail/Reuters)
A Kashmiri Muslim woman prays at the Shah-i-Hamdaan shrine during Ramadan in Srinagar on July 23. Islam'sholy 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. (Tauseef Mustafa/AFP/Getty Images)
An Indian Muslim child runs at the Jama Masjid on the first night of Ramadan in New Delhi, India on
July 21. (Tsering Topgyal/Associated Press)
Pilgrims circle the Kaaba inside the Grand Mosque during the Muslim month of Ramadan in the holy city of
Makah on July 23. (Hassan Ali/Reuters)
