Ramadan 2012 begins

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 (41 photos total)

A Palestinian reads from the Koran during the dawn prayer on the first day of the Muslim holy month of 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)

Muslims attend a mass prayer session "Tarawih" marking the beginning of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in a mosque 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'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. (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 Mecca on July 23. (Hassan Ali/Reuters) 

A Palestinian man reads the Koran outside a mosque in the West Bank city of Jenin on the first day of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan on July 20. (Saif Dahlah/AFP/Getty Images) 

A man looks into a mirror as he tries on a cap before he buys in a market preparing the holy month of Ramadan in Jakarta on July 19. (Enny Nuraheni/Reuters) 

People prepare food to sell for iftar (breaking fast) at Chakbazaar during the holy month of Ramadan in Dhaka on July 21. (Andrew Biraj/Reuters) 

Pakistani truck drivers chant a prayer before breaking their fast on the third day of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Lahore, Pakistan on July 23. (K.M. Chaudary/Associated Press) 

Muslims attend a mass prayer session "Tarawih" marking the beginning of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in a mosque in Makassar of Indonesia's South Sulawesi province on July 20. (Yusuf Ahmad/Reuters) 

A Palestinian buys a photograph of the Dome of the Rock at a market in the West Bank city of Nablus on July 19. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Associated Press) 

Students recite the Holy Koran during Madrasa class at Al-Nour Islamic school in the historic center of Stone Town in the Indian Ocean Island of Zanzibar on July 21. (Thomas Mukoya/Reuters) 

Muslims attend Friday prayers on a rainy first day of Ramadan in the courtyard of a housing estate next to the small BBC community center and mosque (right) in east London on July 20. (Chris Helgren/Reuters) 

Iranian women pray at the shrine of Saint Qassem on the first day of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in northern Tehran, Iran, on July 21. Over a billion Muslims around the world have begun observing the holy month of Ramadan, expected to abstain during daylight hours from food, drink and smoking to focus on spirituality. Ramadan starts with the sighting of the new moon, but it varies because Muslim countries and groups use different ways of calculating when the new moon crescent is sighted. (Vahid Salemi/Associated Press) 

Kashmiri Muslim children pray at a Muslim religious school during the holy month of Ramadan in Srinagar, India, on July 24. (Mukhtar Khan/Associated Press) 

Afghan girls read the Koran during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at a mosque in the city of Jalalabad, the provincial capital of Nangarhar province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan on July 22. (Rahmat Gul/Associated Press) 

A Palestinian inmate is reflected in a mirror in a Hamas-run jail in Gaza City as he prays during the holy month of Ramadan on July 23. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters) 

A Muslim woman offers prayers after having Iftar (fast-breaking) meal during the holy month of Ramadan at the Jama Masjid (Grand Mosque) in the old quarters of Delhi, India on July 21. (Ahmad Masood/Reuters) 

An Indian worker dries Seviiyan, thin vermicelli, which is used for the preparation of sheerkhorma, a traditional sweet dish prepared by the Muslim community during the month of Ramadan at a food factory in Hyderabad on July 24. (Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images) 

A man prepares cookies to be eaten when breaking fast during the holy month of Ramadan in Kabul, Afghanistan on July 23. (Mohammad Ismail/Reuters) 

A Muslim woman offers prayers after having Iftar (fast-breaking) meal during the holy month of Ramadan at the Jama Masjid (Grand Mosque) in the old quarters of Delhi, India on July 21. (Ahmad Masood/Reuters) 

Thai Muslim women pray in a mosque in the southern province of Pattani, Thailand on July 23. (Surapan Boonthanom/Reuters) 

A Yemeni man reads verses of the Koran, Islam's holy book, on the third day of the fasting month of Ramadan in the grand Mosque in the old city of Sanaa on July 22. (Mohammed Huwais/AFP/Getty Images)  

Indian Muslims offer prayers prior to breaking their fast on the first day of the month of Ramadan at Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad on July 21. (Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images) 

Pakistani volunteers give food to people gathered at a local mosque to break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan in Islamabad, Pakistan, on July 24. (B.K. Bangash/Associated Press) 

Indian Muslims break fast on the first day of the month of Ramadan at Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad on July 21. (Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images) 

Kashmiri Muslims pray at the Shah-i-Hamdaan shrine during Ramadan in Srinagar on July 23. (Tauseef Mustafa/AFP/Getty Images) 

Indonesian Muslim men sleep as they wait for the time to break their fast at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, on July 23. (Tatan Syuflana/Associated Press) 

Taken with a time lapse exposure, a Indian Muslim man stands in front of the Jama Masjid as he and other worshippers leave following the breaking of the fast and prayers on the first night of Ramadan in New Delhi, India on July 21. (Kevin Frayer/Associated Press) 

A Palestinian boy plays with fireworks as he celebrates the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Gaza City on July 20. (Hatem Moussa/Associated Press) 

Indonesians line up to receive free porridge provided by a mosque to break their fast during the first day of the holy month of Ramadan in Solo, Central Java, Indonesia on July 21. (Associated Press) 

Egyptian Sheikh Hassan Saeed al-Sakandarany (right) teaches worshippers how to recite from the Koran at the Amr Ibn Al-As mosque in Cairo, Egypt, during the first day of Ramadan on July 20. (Amr Nabil/Associated Press) 

A Kashmiri Muslim prays on a busy street on the first day of Ramadan in Srinagar, India on July 21. (Mukhtar Khan/Associated Press) 

Pakistani workers chant after attending the daily Asr prayer, the afternoon prayer, on a street median a day before the start of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan on July 20. (Muhammed Muheisen/Associated Press) 

Indian Muslim children pray after breaking their fast on the first night of Ramadan in New Delhi, India on July 21. Muslims throughout the world are marking the month of Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar. (Kevin Frayer/Associated Press) 

An Indonesian man reads the Koran as he waits for the time to break his fast during the first day of Ramadan at a mosque in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia on July 21. (Binsar Bakkara/Associated Press) 

Iranian women look at copies of Islam's holy book, the Koran, during a Koran exhibition, at the Imam Khomeini grand mosque, a day prior to Muslims holy fasting month of Ramadan in Tehran on July 20. (Vahid Salemi/Associated Press) 

A young Indian Muslim girl dances at the Jama Masjid on the first night of Ramadan in New Delhi on July 21. (Tsering Topgyal/Associated Press) 

A Pakistani boy prays next to plates of fruits donated to worshippers to break their fast, on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in a mosque in Karachi on July 21. (Shakil Adil/Associated Press) 

Kashmiri Muslim children recite verses from the Koran at a Muslim religious school, during Ramadan in Srinagar, India on July 24. Muslims across the world are observing the holy fasting month of Ramadan, where they refrain from eating, drinking and smoking from dawn to dusk. (Mukhtar Khan/Associated Press)