The holy month of Ramadan is celebrated by Muslims worldwide marked by fasting, abstaining from foods, sex and smoking from dawn to dusk.
ຊາວມຸສລິມທົ່ວໂລກ ເລີ່ມຕົ້ນ ສະຫລອງເດືອນສັກສິດ ຣາມາດັນ
![A vendor sells traditional cakes of fried honey and flour pastries to customers ahead of Ramadan in Rabat, Morocco, July 8, 2013.](https://gdb.voanews.com/2357a0bb-e9af-4cc0-ac71-f636f4ae81e8_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A vendor sells traditional cakes of fried honey and flour pastries to customers ahead of Ramadan in Rabat, Morocco, July 8, 2013.
![A man prepares special sweets at a small traditional factory ahead of Ramadan in Kabul, Afghanistan, July 8, 2013.](https://gdb.voanews.com/197c9ebc-84db-456b-b0e3-3a4a37db5594_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A man prepares special sweets at a small traditional factory ahead of Ramadan in Kabul, Afghanistan, July 8, 2013.
![Israeli security forces pass by a shop selling decorations as they patrol an alley in Jerusalem's Old City, July 8, 2013.](https://gdb.voanews.com/dd0044bf-523b-43c6-b919-5e0d2cdec3c7_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Israeli security forces pass by a shop selling decorations as they patrol an alley in Jerusalem's Old City, July 8, 2013.
![Muslim clerics scan the horizon for the crescent moon that will determine the beginning of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Jakarta, Indonesia, July 8, 2013.](https://gdb.voanews.com/68f5d585-f7df-4c14-bb5c-0fcf7c49519d_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Muslim clerics scan the horizon for the crescent moon that will determine the beginning of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Jakarta, Indonesia, July 8, 2013.