Muslim world observes Ramadan

A Yemeni vendor selling dates sits on his shop at a market in Sanaa, Yemen, Tuesday July 2, 2013. With the holy month of Ramadan approaching, Muslim residents in Yemen prepare to welcome the holy month. Many of them visit markets to buy dates to use daily throughout the month. During the period of Ramadan, Muslims generally break their fast by eating dates and take on tremendous religious significance for them. AP Photo

A shopkeeper arranges the display at a shop that sells Muslim headscarfs at a shopping mall in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, July 8, 2013. Muslims around the world will start observing the holy fasting month of Ramadan this week. AP Photo

An unidentified official of Malaysia's Islamic authority uses a telescope to perform Rukyah, the sighting of the new moon to determine the beginning of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at KL Tower, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, July 8, 2013. Muslims around the world will start observing Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar this week. AP Photo

Muslim men perform an evening prayer called tarawih , marking the first eve of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at a mosque in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia Tuesday, July 9, 2013. During Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from dawn to dusk.(AP Photo

Indonesian Muslims perform an evening prayer called 'tarawih' marking the first eve of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, July 9, 2013. During Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from dawn to dusk. AP Photo

A Pakistani vendor waits for customers to sell praying beads ahead of Ramadan, in Peshawar, Pakistan on Tuesday, July 9, 2013. During Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from dawn to dusk. AP Photo

A Pakistani worker sweeps floor of famous Suneri mosque preparing for an evening prayer called 'tarawih' during Ramadan, in Peshawar, Pakistan on Tuesday, July 9, 2013. During Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from dawn to dusk. AP Photo

Thousands of people sit on Istiklal Avenue, the main shopping road of Istanbul, in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, July 9, 2013. Thousands of people broke the fast on the first day of Ramadan in a kind of spontaneous form of protest sitting in a queue of some hundred meters from Galatasaray University to Taksim Square on the street chanting slogans and eating together. AP Photo

Students read the Quran on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, at Ar Raudlatul Hasanah Islamic boarding school in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Wednesday, July 10, 2013. During Ramadan Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from dawn to dusk. AP Photo

Students sit in circles during a Quran recital class on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, at Ar Raudlatul Hasanah Islamic boarding school in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Wednesday, July 10, 2013. During Ramadan Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from dawn to dusk. AP Photo

A Pakistani Muslim performs ablutions before evening prayer at historical Wazir Khan mosque in Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, July 10, 2013. During Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from dawn to dusk. AP Photo

A Palestinian boy plays with fireworks as he celebrates the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Gaza City, Wednesday, July 10, 2013. Ramadan is traditionally a time of reflection and prayer, and Muslims are expected to abstain during daylight hours from food, drink, smoking and sex to focus on spirituality, good deeds and charity. The fast presents a physical and spiritual challenge every year, but particularly when the holiday falls during harsh Mideast summer when the days are longest and temperatures soar in some places to 50 degrees Celsius (120 Fahrenheit).AP photo

Indian Muslims sit on the stairs of Jamia Masjid or Grand Mosque in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, July 10, 2013. The new moon heralds the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, a time of fasting, prayer and charitable giving for Muslims worldwide.AP Photo

A worshipper reads Islam's holy book Quran at the Grand Mosque in the holy Muslim city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, July 10, 2013. Many devout Muslims in the Middle East have started observing the dawn to dusk fast for the month of Ramadan even as the region is rocked by Egypt's turmoil and the relentless civil war in Syria. For most Sunnis and Shiites, Ramadan started on Wednesday while others are expected to begin observing the holy month on Thursday differences based on various sightings of the new moon. AP Photo

A Pakistani vendor waits for customers to sell praying beads ahead of Ramadan, in Peshawar, Pakistan on Tuesday, July 9, 2013. During Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from dawn to dusk. AP Photo