Ramadan cont’d

 Palestinian woman buys sweets at a shop in the main market during preparations for the Eid Al-Fitr feast in Gaza City on September 24, 2008. Muslims around the world are preparing to celebrate the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of Islam’s holy fasting month of Ramadan, on October 1. AFP PHOTO/MAHMUD HAMS (Photo credit should read MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty Images)

Thai Muslim women offer night prayer at Pattani mosque during the month of Ramadan in Thailand’s restive southern Pattani province on September 23, 2008. Thai Muslims will celebrate the Eid al -Fitr festival, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, with other Muslims of the world on 01 October.   AFP PHOTO / Tuwaedaniya MERINGING (Photo credit should read Tuwaedaniya MERINGING/AFP/Getty Images)

Thai Muslim women offer night prayer at Pattani mosque during the month of Ramadan in Thailand’s restive southern Pattani province on September 23, 2008. Thai Muslims will celebrate the Eid al -Fitr festival, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, with other Muslims of the world on 01 October.   AFP PHOTO / Tuwaedaniya MERINGING (Photo credit should read Tuwaedaniya MERINGING/AFP/Getty Images)

Women’s slippers are left at the door as Shiite Mulsim women (L) read the holy Muslim Koran together in the southern holy city of Karbala some 120 kilometers from the capital Baghdad on September 21 2008, as they remember the murder of Imam Ali. The Imam Ali was the son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet Muhammad, and was killed in this southern Iraqi town Kufa some 40 kilometers from the city of Karbala in 661AD. He is seen as the Prophet’s closest relative and the one whom the Shiites saw as the Prophet’s true successor, and so is regarded as a great saint and martyr. For the next three days Shiite Muslims remember the murder of Imam Ali when he was stabbed with a poison tipped knife culminating in his death three days later. AFP PHOTO / MOHAMMED SAWAF (Photo credit should read MOHAMMED SAWAF/AFP/Getty Images)

Malaysian Muslim women wait for their bus at a bus terminal in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008. Malaysian Muslims start taking holidays to rush back to their hometown to celebrate Eid Al-Fitr festival, a celebration that marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan this week. (AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin)

Ramadan cont’d

Palestinian girls read verses of the holy Koran before breaking their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in the West Bank village of Salem near Nablus on September 23, 2008. AFP/ JAAFAR ASHTIYEH (Photo credit should read JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP/Getty Images)

JAKARTA, INDONESIA – SEPTEMBER 15: A pawn shop officer values a diamond ring at a pawn shop on September 15, 2008 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Indonesia has seen a sharp rise in food costs in the lead up to Ramadan, putting pressure on already cash strapped families. Pawn shop business in Indonesia usually increases by 20 per cent during Islam’s holy month of Ramadan as people borrow money for gift-giving, new clothes and hosting friends and family for meals of seasonal food. Most people pawn gold but around 20 per cent pawn electronic goods, computers, digital cameras, and even cars or motorcycles. (Photo Dimas Ardian/Getty Images)

A child walks into the Istiqcac Mosque before breaking her fast in Jakarta on September 22, 2008.  (SAM YEH/AFP/Getty Images)

Egyptians eat during Iftar, the evening meal breaking their daily fast, at a charity providing free food during Ramadan in Cairo September 21, 2008.  REUTERS/Nasser Nuri   (EGYPT)

Fatuma Abbullahi, right, Leyla Ahmed, center, and Faduma Abdi, all of Grand Island, Neb., attend a gathering to discuss the recent firings of more than 100 Somali employees at the JBS Swift & Co. meat packing plant in Grand Island, Neb. on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008. The firings occurred after the Somali Muslims observed Ramadan prayers at sunset while still at work. The three were some of the first to be fired. (AP Photo/Bill Wolf)

Widows with their children peruse the stalls as they choose clothing for their children at a distribution center in Baghdad’s Sadr City neighbor on September 21 2008. A non governmental organization backed by the government is distributing clothes to the children of widows and orphaned children  as the end of the holy month of Ramadan approaches and the Eid festivities begin. There are now 25,000 children who have lost either there father, mother or both since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 in the provinces of Diyala and Baghdad. AFP PHOTO / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)

Two Iraqi brothers hug their mother after being released from a US military prison in Baghdad on September 20, 2008. One hundred Iraqi detainees were released today making up some of the 1300 Iraqi prisoners being held by the US military to be released during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. AFP PHOTO / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)

Indonesia

Ramadan Around the world (cont.’d)

A Muslim women looks at a variety of cookies at a Ramadan bazaar in downtown Kuala Lumpur on 20 September 2008. Malaysian Muslims began early shopping in preparing for Eid al-Fitr, a celebration that marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Muslims in Malaysia will celebrate the Eid al-Fitr on October 1.   (AFP/AFP/Getty Images)

A Muslim women is reflected in a mirror as she selects a head scarf at a Ramadan bazaar in downtown Kuala Lumpur on 20 September 2008. Malaysian Muslims began early shopping in preparing for Eid al-Fitr, a celebration that marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Muslims in Malaysia will celebrate the Eid al-Fitr on October 1.   ( AFP/AFP/Getty Images)

Palestinians disembark from a bus at the Kalandia Checkpoint on their way to pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque for the holy fasting month of Ramadan, between Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah, Friday, Sept. 19, 2008. Prominent Palestinians are lighting a fire under Israel’s feet by proposing a peace in which there would be no separate Palestine and Israel, but a single state with equal rights for all. The recent talk of a binational state of Arabs and Jews may be little more than a Palestinian pressure tactic fed by frustration over the failure of talks on a two-state solution, but it has set Israeli leaders on edge.(AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

With the Dome of the Rock Mosque seen in the background, a Palestinian Muslim worshipper holds an umbrella to avoid the sun  during the third Friday prayers of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City, Friday, Sept. 19, 2008. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

Palestinian women pray after being prevented from crossing the Kalandia Checkpoint, due to age or permit restrictions, to travel to the Al Aqsa Mosque for the holy fasting month of Ramadan, between Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah, Friday, Sept. 19, 2008.  (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)

Pakistani Muslim women offer congregational noon Friday prayers during the holy month of Ramadan in Lahore on September 19, 2008.  ( Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images)

Ramadan pics cont’d

A Palestinian woman tries to stand up after having been pushed by Israeli soldiers as Palestinians are on their way to pray for the holy fasting month of Ramadan at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City, at Kalandia checkpoint, between the West Bank town of Ramallah and Jerusalem, Friday, Sept. 12, 2008.   (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) MAY ALLAH HELP THEM. AMEEN.

Jordanians gather for the Iftar or breaking fast meal offered by a charity organization in Amman, Jordan, Wednesday, Sept. 3. 2008.  The public-service TV ads deliver a cheerful, yet pointed, message to Muslims observing Ramadan’s traditional dawn to dusk fast: “Don’t overeat” when night comes. “Exercise and stay healthy.”   (AP Photo/Mohammad abu Ghosh)

Syrian girls sit while they wait to greet President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma before an Iftar dinner for 600 orphans at the presidential palace in Damascus September 28, 2007.  REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA)

 

Bangladeshi orphan girls offer prayers before a Ramadan Iftar, or evening meal to break fast, organized for less privileged children by the Sonargaon hotel in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008.  (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman)

U.S. President George W. Bush (C) is seated with Kuwait’s Prime Minister Sheikh Nasir Muhammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah (L) and other unidentified guests at the Iftaar Dinner at the White House in Washington September 17, 2008. Iftaar marks the meal served at the end of the day during Ramadan to break the day’s fast.      REUTERS/Mike Theiler  (UNITED STATES)

Musicians from Syria play oriental music as part of Babel nights during Ramadan at Babel theater in Beirut September 16, 2008. Picture taken September 16, 2008. REUTERS/Sharif Karim   (LEBANON)

Ramadan around the world continued…

Palestinian Muslim women read verses of the Quran, Islam’s holiest book, inside the Dome of the Rock Mosque during the second Friday prayers of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City, Friday, Sept. 12, 2008. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

Jordanian women queue outside a humanitarian center for aid, as a chef prepares meals to be donated at the breaking fast time, or Iftar, on the 13th day of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Amman, Jordan, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008.  (AP Photo/Nader Daoud) MAY ALLAH ASSIST THEM. AMEEN.

Pakistani Muslim women offer Friday prayers at a local mosque in Lahore, Pakistan, Sept. 12, 2008. Muslims throughout the worlds are celebrating the holy month of Ramadan. (AP Photo/K.M.Chaudary)

A child waits for his family inside the historic Umayyad Mosque during Iftar time, when Muslims break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan, in Old Damascus September 11, 2008. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA)

People shop at a ready-made garments stall on a street in Jakarta on September 11, 2008 ahead of the Eid-al-Fitr festival which marks the end of the Muslim’s fasting month of ramadan.  The world’s most populous Muslim-majority country has seen a spike in the cost of food in the lead-up to the fasting month, putting pressure on families already hit hard by sharp rises in subsidised fuel prices. (BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images)

Ramadan Around the World cont’d

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma chat with children during a Ramadan Iftar dinner they hosted for 320 orphans at Nawa city about 100km south of Damascus September 10,2008.REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA)

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma chat with children during a Ramadan Iftar dinner they hosted for 320 orphans at Nawa city about 100km south of Damascus September 10, 2008.  REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA)

Muslim girls pray in a madrasa or school during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan on the outskirts of Jammu September 9, 2008. REUTERS/Amit Gupta (INDIAN-ADMINISTERED KASHMIR)

An elderly Thai Muslim womans looks out from a mosque window during the month of Ramadan in Thailand’s violence-torn southern Narathiwat province on September 12, 2008.  More than 3,400 people have been killed since separatist unrest erupted four years ago in the south. Tensions in the region have simmered since Thailand annexed the mainly ethnic Malay sultanate in 1902.   AFP PHOTO / Madaree TOHLALA (Photo credit should read MADAREE TOHLALA/AFP/Getty Images)

A Palestinian woman holds up her identification card as she waits to cross a checkpoint in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, September 12, 2008, on her way to the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem on the second Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis (WEST BANK)

A Palestinian woman is seen on her way to pray for the holy fasting month of Ramadan at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City,  Friday, Sept. 12, 2008. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was quoted Friday as saying Israelis and Palestinians have not been able to agree on a single issue in nine months of peace talks, but he promised to go on working with whomever replaces the outgoing Israeli prime minister. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue

Ramadan Around the World

Students greet Jordan’s King Abdullah (R) during his visit to al-Talibya Palestinian refugee camp during the holy month of Ramadan in Amman September 9, 2008.   REUTERS/Yousef Allan   (JORDAN)

Jordan’s King Abdullah (R) speaks to a Palestinian family during his visit to al-Talibya Palestinian refugee camp during the holy month of Ramadan in Amman  September 9, 2008. REUTERS/Yousef Allan (JORDAN)

Muslim girls pray in a madrasa or school during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan on the outskirts of Jammu September 9, 2008. REUTERS/Amit Gupta (INDIAN-ADMINISTERED KASHMIR)

A Muslim girl prays in a madrasa or school during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan on the outskirts of Jammu September 9, 2008.  REUTERS/Amit Gupta (INDIAN-ADMINISTERED KASHMIR)

Palestinian women walk past Ramadan ornaments in the market of Jerusalem’s Old City, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

A Kashmiri Muslim woman recites Quran, or Muslim holy book, inside the shrine of Sufi saint Hazrat Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom, commonly known as Sultan-Ul-Arifeen during holy month of Ramadan, in Srinagar, India, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Ramadan around the world, cont’d

Indian Muslims buy food at roadside stalls to break fast at the end of the sixth day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in the old quarters of Mumbai September 7, 2008. REUTERS/Arko Datta (INDIA)

Palestinian girls read the Quran during the Muslim’s holy fasting month of Ramadan, in a mosque at the Balata refugee camp near the West Bank town of Nablus, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

Visually impaired Palestinian students pray in their classroom during the holy fasting month of Ramadan at Al-Qabas Islamic school in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. The Islamic school is funded by local donations, that usually increase during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

A Palestinian Muslim girl looks out from her family house which is decorated with festive lights during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Monday, Sept. 8, 2008. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

Ramadan around the world

An Indian Muslim teacher (L) helps students as they recite Qaeda (The fundamentals of the Holy Quran) during a special class on Islamic teachings in a Muslim Minority High School in Hyderabad on September 5, 2008.  ( NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images)

A Palestinian woman prays early morning in front of the Dome of the Rock mosque inside the sacred Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam’s third holiest shrine, in Jerusalem’s Old City on the first Friday of the Muslim month of Ramadan on September 5, 2008.  ( AHED IZHIMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Muslim women reads a copy of the Koran at a mosque in Denpasar on the island of Bali on September 4, 2008 as devotees of the world’s largest Muslim populated nation observe the holy fasting month of Ramadan.  (SONNY TUMBELAKA/AFP/Getty Images)

 

Fozia, left, and her sister Labiba from Nigeria set afloat Fanoos, or lantern, after they donated 10 Dirhams (about US$ 3) to support orphans during the holy month of Ramadan at a shopping mall in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

More Ramadan around the world…

Palestinian girls read the Koran in a mosque at the West Bank city of Nablus during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan September 6, 2008. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini (WEST BANK)

A Palestinian girl reads the Koran in a mosque at the West Bank city of Nablus during  the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan September 6, 2008. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini (WEST BANK)

Muslim women gather for the first Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan in Rome’s mosque September 5, 2008.  REUTERS/Chris Helgren (ITALY)

A Palestinian Muslim worshipper is backdropped by the Russian Orthodox Church as she  prays during the first Friday prayers of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City, Friday, Sept. 5, 2008.  Around 90,000 Muslims congregated in Jerusalem for the first Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. He said “thousands” of police were deployed around the city to “prevent any disturbances.” (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

Kashmiri Muslim women pray as a girl looks on inside the Jamia Masjid, or Grand Mosque, on the first Friday of Ramadan in Srinagar, India, Friday, Sept. 5, 2008.  (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)