Ramadan rituals gallery 

 Indian Muslims place food items on plates to distribute prior to the breaking of the fast at Jama-e-Masjid Aiwan-e-Begumpet mosque during the holy month of Ramadan in Hyderabad on August 3, 2011.

 

 A Saudi man prepares boxes of dates for sale on the eve of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan at a market in Riyadh on July 31, 2011. Traditionally, dates are known as the food prophet Mohammad (PBUH) ate when he broke from his fast.A Saudi boy sits amid boxes of dates displayed for sale. Iftar refers to the evening meal when Muslims break their fast during the Islamic month of Ramadan. Iftar is one of the religious observances of Ramadan and is often done as a community, with people gathering to break their fast together. Iftar is done right after Maghrib (sunset) time. Traditionally, a date is the first thing to be consumed when the fast is broken.

 An Iraqi shop owner prepares sacks of nuts and pulses on the eve of Islam's holy fasting month of Ramadan in Baghdad on July 31, 2011 when devout Muslims abstain from temptations until sunset when they break the fast with the iftar meal.

 Turkish people break their first day of fasting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan with meals distributed by the Eyup Sultan district municipality, on a bridge in Eyup Sultan, downtown Istanbul.

 Pakistani youths make arrangement for iftar at the Dervesh Mosque in Peshawar.

 A food vendor arranges traditional foods for ''Buka Puasa'' to break the fast during the month of Ramadan in Denpasar on the resort island of Bali on August 2, 2011.