The Muslim Eid al-Fitr festival, marking the end of the month of Ramadan, began this week in parts of the world where sightings of the new moon were made. During Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, devout Muslims abstain from food, drink, and sex from dawn until sunset. The fast, one of the five pillars of Islam, is seen as a time for spiritual reflection, prayers, and charity. After sunset, Muslims traditionally break the fast by eating three dates, performing the Maghrib prayer, and sitting down to iftar, the main evening meal, where communities and families gather together. Collected below are images of Muslims around the world observing Eid al-Fitr and Ramadan this year.
Photos: Eid al-Fitr and the End of Ramadan 2021
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![Women stand together and pray.]()
Read moreIranian Muslim women perform Eid al-Fitr prayers in western Tehran on May 13, 2021. #
Atta Kenare / AFP / Getty -
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![A man uses a device to sight the new moon.]()
Read moreAn Indonesian Muslim uses a theodolite to see the new crescent moon and determine Rukyatul Hilal, which signals the end of Ramadan, in Gresik, Indonesia. #
Robertus Pudyanto / Getty -
![A large group of people gather near a mosque to pray.]()
Read moreIndonesian Muslims maintain social distance as they pray at the Al-Azhar Great Mosque during Eid al-Fitr in Jakarta, Indonesia, on May 13, 2021. #
Willy Kurniawan / Reuters -
![Trays of baklava are seen in a bakery.]()
Read moreTrays of baklava are seen in a bakery ahead of Eid al-Fitr in Gaziantep, Turkey, on May 10, 2021. #
Mehmet Akif Parlak / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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![A health-care worker speaks with their family over video.]()
Read moreA health-care worker speaks with their family over video at Izmir Katip Celebi University Atatürk Training and Research Hospital as they continue to work on the first day of Eid al-Fitr during a full lockdown lasting through May 17 to stem the spread of the coronavirus, in Izmir, Turkey, on May 13, 2021. #
Mehmet Emin Menguarslan / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
![Men gather in an observatory to sight the moon.]()
Read moreIraqis gather in an astronomical observatory for a moon sighting to mark the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Najaf, Iraq, on May 12, 2021. #
Ali Najafi / AFP / Getty -
![A large group of worshippers gather in a stadium to pray.]()
Read moreMuslim worshippers pray during the the Eid al-Fitr morning prayer at a soccer stadium in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on May 13, 2021. #
Amanuel Sileshi / AFP / Getty -
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![A person distributes drinks along long lines of dishes.]()
Read moreA Muslim volunteer distributes soft drinks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on May 11, 2021, at Meskel Square to break fast at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan. #
Amanuel Sileshi / AFP / Getty -
![People prepare sweets in a kitchen at home.]()
Read morePatul and Ayah Kutmah make sweets together on the day before Eid at their home in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 11, 2021. #
Amira Karaoud / Reuters -
![People gather in a courtyard to eat together.]()
Read morePeople gather at Diyanet Mosque of Bergen to celebrate Eid al-Fitr in Cliffside Park, New Jersey, on May 13, 2021. #
Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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![A family shares a meal in their home.]()
Read moreUzma Munir (back left), Regan Ashraf (back right), Romeesa Kiran Fatima (left), and Adil Idris break their Ramadan fast at their home in Pembroke Pines, Florida, on May 9, 2021. #
Chandan Khanna / AFP / Getty -
![A man sits alone, reading, inside a large mosque.]()
Read moreA Muslim devotee reads the Quran, the holy book of Islam, inside the Jamia Masjid mosque in Srinagar on April 20, 2021. #
Tauseef Mustafa / AFP / Getty -
![Two people smile for the camera.]()
Read moreMuslims pose for a photograph after performing the Eid prayers at the Masjid Noor mosque in Nairobi, Kenya, on May 13, 2021. #
Monicah Mwangi / Reuters -
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![A girl rides a swan-shaped amusement ride.]()
Read moreA Muslim girl rides on a swan at an amusement park after attending the Eid al-Fitr prayer at Uhuru Park in Nairobi, Kenya, on May 13, 2021. #
Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty -
![A man prepares traditional rice meals in bamboo tubes.]()
Read moreA man prepares the traditional dish lemang ahead of the upcoming Eid al-Fitr in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on May 8, 2021. Lemang, made by cooking the rice placed in bamboo canes over a wood fire, is cooked and sold in tents set up on the side of the road a week before Eid al-Fitr. #
Syaiful Redzuan / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
![A young man performs a flip in a courtyard.]()
Read moreA Palestinian youth performs a jump outside the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City on May 13, 2021, during Eid al-Fitr. #
Ahmad Gharabli / AFP / Getty -
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![A girl in a nice dress chases pigeons among adults in a courtyard.]()
Read moreA young girl chases pigeons as Muslim worshippers gather to perform the Eid al-Fitr morning prayer at the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca on May 13, 2021. #
Abdulghani Essa / AFP / Getty -
![A large group of people pray together.]()
Read moreMuslims pray in a street in front of a mosque in Adjamé, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on May 12, 2021. #
Sia Kambou / AFP / Getty -
![An aerial view of hundreds of people praying together.]()
Read moreThis aerial photo taken on May 13, 2021, shows Albanian Muslims praying at Skanderbej Square on the first day of Eid in Tirana, Albania. #
Gent Shkullaku / AFP / Getty -
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![A man sits alone beneath a long road bridge.]()
Read moreThe imam of a mosque in Soutadounouni is seen meditating under the third bridge of Bamako, Mali, during Eid al-Fitr on May 12, 2021. #
Michele Cattani / AFP / Getty -
![Boys and men perform prayers together.]()
Read moreBoys perform the Eid al-Fitr prayers in Sanaa, Yemen, on May 13, 2021. #
Khaled Abdullah / Reuters -
![A portrait of a woman wearing a colorful veil.]()
Read moreA Muslim bride offers prayers on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan at the historical Badshahi Masjid in Lahore, Pakistan, on May 7, 2021. #
Arif Ali / AFP / Getty -
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![An aerial view of a large mosque, with hundreds of worshippers inside and out.]()
Read moreAn aerial view of the Fatih Mosque, seen as people gather to perform Eid al-Fitr prayers in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 13, 2021 #
Muhammed Enes Yildirim / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
![A boy watches closely as falafel is deep-fried.]()
Read moreA Palestinian boy waits for a batch of falafel at a vendor in the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, on April 18, 2021. #
Hazem Bader / AFP / Getty -
![Several young people walk in the dark while carrying candles.]()
Read moreStudents wear protective masks and hold candles as they prepare to read the Quran during Laylat al-Qadr ("Night of Destiny"), which marks the night in which the holy Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, at the Nurul Hidayah Al-Mubarokah boarding school in Boyolali, Central Java, Indonesia, on May 2, 2021. #
Ulet Ifansasti / Getty -
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![A man looks over. balcony, with a mosque visible in the background.]()
Read moreA Muslim worshipper makes his way to the Mosque of Divinity ahead of Faye Faat (The Compensatory Prayer) at the Mosque of Divinity in Dakar, Senegal, on May 7, 2021. #
John Wessels / AFP / Getty -
![Women gather together to pray in a courtyard.]()
Read moreA group of women is seen praying in the courtyard of the Roi Faycal Bin Abdoulaziz Mosque during Eid al-Fitr in Bamako, Mali, on May 12, 2021. #
Michele Cattani / AFP / Getty -
![A large group of people pray together on a football pitch.]()
Read moreMuslims wearing protective face masks gather to perform Eid al-Fitr prayers amid the ongoing pandemic at Nyamirambo Stadium in Kigali, Rwanda, on May 13, 2021. #
Habimana Thierry / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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![A large group of people gather together in prayer.]()
Read moreMuslims perform the Eid al-Fitr prayer at Jamacadaha Football Stadium in Mogadishu, Somalia, on May 13, 2021. #
AFP / Getty -
![Sweet treats, seen in trays.]()
Read moreA picture taken on May 11, 2021, shows baklava and other sweets prepared in trays at an artisan Turkish delicatessen in Haarlemmermeer, a municipality of Amsterdam, Netherlands, ahead of Eid al-Fitr. #
Koen Van Weel / ANP / AFP / Getty -
![People sit together, taking photos of themselves.]()
Read moreFilipino Muslims wearing face masks take selfies as they celebrate Eid al-Fitr outside the Blue Mosque on May 13, 2021, in Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines. #
Ezra Acayan / Getty -
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![People gather near a castle to perform prayers together.]()
Read moreMuslims gather to perform the Eid al-Fitr prayer which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, outside Cardiff Castle in Cardiff, Wales, on May 13, 2021. #
Geoff Caddick / AFP / Getty
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