Ramadan begins

Across the world, more than a billion adherents to the religion of Islam have begun observing Ramadan, their holiest of days.

Excerpting, editing by Carolyn Bennett

During the 30-day period, Muslims, believers who observe this “holiest month in Islam,” will abstain from certain activities from dawn to dusk. This curtailment includes eating, drinking, smoking and sexual intimacy. Holding entertainment activities, celebrations or parties are prohibited. Faithful Muslims “are supposed to exercise piety and spend evenings conducting prayers” throughout the holy month of Ramadan.

Islam is the world’s second largest religion. An estimated 50 countries have Muslim majorities. In this estimate, 62 percent live in Asia including more than 683 million adherents in Indonesia, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.

Continents/Countries in which Islam is practiced

AFRICA: Algeria • Angola • Benin • Botswana • Burkina Faso • Burundi • Cameroon • Cape Verde • Central African Republic • Chad • Comoros • Democratic Republic of the Congo • Republic of the Congo • Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) • Djibouti • Egypt • Equatorial Guinea • Eritrea • Ethiopia • Gabon • The Gambia • Ghana • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • Kenya • Lesotho • Liberia • Libya • Madagascar • Malawi • Mali • Mauritania • Mauritius • Morocco • Mozambique • Namibia • Niger • Nigeria • Rwanda • São Tomé and Príncipe • Senegal • Seychelles • Sierra Leone • Somalia • South Africa • Sudan • Swaziland • Tanzania • Togo • Tunisia • Uganda • Western Sahara (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) • Zambia • Zimbabwe

ASIA:  Afghanistan • Bahrain • Bangladesh • Bhutan • Brunei • Burma • Cambodia • China (Hong Kong) • East Timor • India • Indonesia • Iran • Iraq • Israel and the Palestinian territories • Japan • Jordan • Kazakhstan • Korea • Kyrgyzstan • Kuwait • Laos • Lebanon • Maldives • Malaysia • Mongolia • Nepal • Oman • Pakistan • Philippines • Qatar • Saudi Arabia • Singapore • Sri Lanka • Syria • Taiwan • Tajikistan • Thailand • Turkmenistan • UAE • Uzbekistan • Vietnam • Yemen

EUROPE: Albania • Andorra • Armenia • Austria • Azerbaijan • Belarus • Belgium • Bosnia • Bulgaria • Croatia • Cyprus • Czech Republic • Denmark • Estonia • Finland • France • Georgia • Germany • Greece • Hungary • Iceland • Ireland • Italy • Latvia • Liechtenstein • Lithuania • Macedonia • Luxembourg • Malta • Moldova • Montenegro • Netherlands • Norway • Poland • Portugal • Romania • Russia • Serbia • Slovakia • Slovenia • Spain • Sweden • Switzerland • Turkey • Ukraine • United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales) • USSR

AMERICAS: Antigua & Barbuda • Argentina • Bahamas • Barbados • Belize • Bolivia • Brazil • Canada • Chile • Colombia • Costa Rica • Cuba • Dominica • Dominican Republic • Ecuador • El Salvador • Grenada • Guatemala • Guyana • Haiti • Honduras • Jamaica • Mexico • Nicaragua • Panama • Paraguay • Peru • St. Kitts & Nevis • St. Lucia • St. Vincent & the Grenadines • Suriname • Trinidad & Tobago • United States • Uruguay • Venezuela

OCEANIA: Australia • Cocos (Keeling) Islands • Federated States of Micronesia • Fiji • Guam • Kiribati • Marshall Islands • Nauru • New Caledonia • New Zealand • Northern Mariana Islands • Palau • Papua New Guinea • Samoa • Solomon Islands • Tonga • Tuvalu • Vanuatu

Sources

“Muslims begin Ramadan observance — Islam’s holiest month begins amid sweltering temperatures in Middle East and elsewhere,” August 11, 2010, http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/08/2010811122934556812.html

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Muslim_population

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