Muslims around the world are observing Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim year that lasts around 30 days, which strict fasting is observed from sunrise to sunset and although it is a time of deprivation, Muslims consider Ramadan to be a joyful season.
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A Pakistani boy, Tayyeb Mohammed, 10, waits his turn to recite verses of the Quran for class, while attending his madrassa, or Islamic school, during the Muslim holy fasting Month of Ramadan in Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012. AP / Muhammed Muheisen
Pakistani workers attend Zuhr prayers, or noon prayers, on a street median, during the last week of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012. AP / Muhammed Muheisen
A Pakistani worshipper, left, prays while others read verses of the Quran, during the Muslim holy fasting Month of Ramadan in a mosque in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012. AP / Fareed Khan
Kashmiri Muslim women offer prayers during special prayers to observe the Martyr Day of Hazrat Ali, cousin of Prophet Mohammed, on the 21st day of Ramadan at the Hazratbal Shrine in Srinagar, India, Friday, Aug. 10, 2012. AP / Dar Yasin
Indian Muslims offer prayers on the last Friday of Ramadan outside the Bandra railway station in Mmbai, India, Friday, Aug. 17, 2012. Muslims across the world are marking the holy month of Ramadan. AP / Rajanish Kakade
A crowd of Indian Muslims offer prayer on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan at Jama Maszid, in New Delhi, India, Friday, Aug. 17, 2012. Muslims across the world are marking the holy month of Ramadan. AP / Rajesh Kumar Singh
Parents of a Kashmiri Muslim girl buy a dress for her ahead of Eid, in Srinagar, India, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012. Muslims across the world are preparing for the arrival of Eid al-Fitr, the festival marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. AP / Mukhtar Khan
A Kashmiri Muslim woman holds her son as she along with the others prays as the head priest, unseen, displays the holy relic believed to be a hair from the beard of Prophet Mohammad, during special prayers to observe the Martyr Day of Hazrat Ali, cousin of Prophet Mohammed, on the 21st day of Ramadan at the Hazratbal Shrine in Srinagar, India, Friday, Aug. 10, 2012. AP / Dar Yasin
A Kashmiri Muslim woman prays as the head priest, unseen, displays the holy relic believed to be a hair from the beard of Prophet Mohammad, during special prayers to observe the Martyr Day of Hazrat Ali, cousin of Prophet Mohammed, on the 21st day of Ramadan at the Hazratbal Shrine in Srinagar, India, Friday, Aug. 10, 2012. AP / Dar Yasin
Kashmiri Muslim women pray on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan outside Jama Masjid, in Srinagar, India, Friday, Aug. 17, 2012. AP / Dar Yasin
Kashmiri Muslim girls recite verses from the holy Quran at a local madrasa, or Muslim religious school, during the holy month of Ramadan in Srinagar, India, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012. AP / Dar Yasin
Kashmiri Muslim women offer prayer on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan outside Jama Masjid, in Srinagar, India, Friday, Aug. 17, 2012. AP / Dar Yasin
An Indian Muslim boy has his hand pushed away as he tries to take donated food from a volunteer before breaking the Ramadan fast at the shrine of Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012. AP / Kevin Frayer
Indian Muslims break their Ramadan fast on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, at the Jama Masjid, in New Delhi, India, Friday, Aug. 17, 2012. AP / Manish Swarup
An Indian Muslim man sits on the walls of the Jama Masjid after breaking his fast in New Delhi, India, Friday, Aug. 17, 2012. AP / Kevin Frayer
Indian Muslims offer prayer on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan at Jama Maszid, in New Delhi, India, Friday, Aug.17, 2012. Muslims across the world are marking the holy month of Ramadan. AP / Rajesh Kumar Singh
An Indian Muslim woman prays at the Jama (Grand) Mosque in New Delhi, India, Friday, Aug. 10, 2012. Muslims across the world are observing Ramadan. AP / Tsering Topgyal
An Indian Muslim man waits for his family at the Jama (Grand) Mosque in New Delhi, India, Friday, Aug. 10, 2012. AP / Tsering Topgyal
A Muslim man is reflected in a mirror as he tries on a songkok cap at a Ramadan bazaar in Klang, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012. During the holy month of Ramadan, a daily bazaar offers various selections of clothing, food, prayer mats and other religious items to Muslims who traditionally shop for new outfits to welcome Eid al-Fitr celebrations at the end of the month. AP / Lai Seng Sin
Indonesian Muslim men wait for the time to break their fast of the day at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, Aug. 10, 2012. Muslims around the world are observing Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar, where refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from dawn to dusk. AP / Achmad Ibrahim
An Indonesian youth yawns among motorcyclists as they wait to travel to Sumatra island, at Merak ferry port in Banten province, Indonesia, Friday, Aug. 17, 2012. A mass exodus out of the capital and other major cities in the world's most populous Muslim country is underway as millions are heading to their home villages to celebrate Eid al-Fitr holiday on Aug. 19. The holiday marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. AP /
Indonesians sit on the stairway in a crowded ship as they leave for their home towns at Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012. AP / Tatan Syuflana
A mother stands with her baby inside a train at Senen railway station in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, Aug. 17, 2012. AP / Tatan Syuflana
People scramble to board a train as they leave for their hometowns at Senen train station in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012. AP / Dita Alangkara
Afghan children receive free donated food by a private charity during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan at a mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012. AP / Musadeq Sadeq
Afghans break their fast during one of the last days of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan at a mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan on Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012. AP / Musadeq Sadeq
Afghan children gather around their teacher to read verses of the Quran, as they attend their madrassa, during the Muslim holy fasting Month of Ramadan in Jalalabad east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday 14, 2012. AP / Rahmat Gul
An Afghan Muslim devotee, who lives and prays in isolation in a mosque during Itikaf, the last ten days of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, reads from the Quran in the city of Jalalabad east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012. The last ten days of Ramadan, known as Itikaf, are very important according to many Muslims due to the belief that Prophet Muhammad used to exert himself even more in worship, hoping to draw himself closer to God. Itikaf involves total dedication to worship, reading Quran, and supplication. AP / Rahmat Gul
Pakistani men count money they collected from worshippers to be delivered to poor families, on the last Friday of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, in a mosque in Gujranwala, Pakistan. AP / Aftab Rizvi
Pakistanis pray in a mosque, during the last week of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012. AP / Muhammed Muheisen
Palestinians pass an Israeli checkpoint on their way to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on the fourth Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Friday, Aug. 10, 2012. AP / Majdi Mohammed
A Syrian boy with colors of the revolutionary flag painted on his face holds a candle during Laylat Al Qadr, the 27th day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in font of the Syrian embassy in Amman, Jordan, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012. AP / Mohammad Hannon
Syrian women pray during Laylat Al Qadr, the 27th day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in font of the Syrian embassy in Amman, Jordan, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012. AP / Mohammad Hannon
An Egyptian woman checks prices outside a shop on Eid el-Fitr holiday, which caps the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, in Cairo, Egypt late Wednesday, Aug.15, 2012. AP / Amr Nabil
Egyptian Muslims pray or sleep in Amr Ibn Al-As mosque in Cairo, Egypt, since the beginning of Itikaf, the last 10 days of Ramadan early Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012. Many Muslims retreat to mosques during the last 10 days of Ramadan, to read the Quran, and pray. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) AP / Amr Nabil
Egyptian Muslim women and men are separated as they offer special prayers marking Laylat al-Qadr, Night of Power, at Amr Ibn Al-As mosque in Cairo, Egypt, early Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012. Muslims Seek Laylat al-Qadr in the odd nights during the last ten nights of Ramadan. AP / Amr Nabil
Egyptian Muslims offer special prayers marking Laylat al-Qadr, Night of Power, at Amr Ibn Al-As mosque in Cairo, Egypt, early Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012. Muslims Seek Laylat al-Qadr in the odd nights during the last ten nights of Ramadan. AP / Amr Nabil
Egyptian Mohammed al Tonsi, 38, bangs a drum and chants religious songs as he walks along a decorated street marking Ramadan in Cairo, Egypt, early Friday, Aug. 10, 2012. Al Tonsi is a "Musahharati" who wakes faithful Muslims for their prayers and pre-dawn meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. AP / Amr Nabil
A child sits on her brother's lap as she joins him during the third Friday of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Nairobi, Kenya, Friday, Aug. 10, 2012. AP / Sayyid Azim
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