Saudis use a telescope to monitor the new moon of Ramadan as astronomers and scholars of Islam debate when the holy Muslim month of Ramadan begins, in the Saudi city of Taif on Thursday, July 19. The start of the fasting month, when the faithful abstain from eating from dawn to sunset, is determined by the sighting of the new moon.

A Jordanian man looks at decorations for Ramadan in Amman, Jordan, Thursday, July 19. Religious authorities in Jordan declared that Friday will be the start of the holy month of Ramadan, a period devoted to dawn-to-dusk fasting, prayers and spiritual introspection. Ramadan begins around 11 days earlier each year. Its start is calculated based on the sighting of the new moon, which marks the beginning of the Muslim lunar month that varies between 29 or 30 days.

A Palestinian boy plays with fireworks as he celebrates the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in the West Bank city of Nablus, Thursday, July 19.

Brides speak to their grooms during a mass wedding ceremony in Amman Jordan on July 6.

Brides wait for their grooms before a mass wedding ceremony in Amman on July 6.

A Jordanian groom covers his face from foam spray during a mass wedding of 46 brides and 46 grooms in Amman, Jordan.

A Kashmiri Muslim boy walks past the Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani Shrine, popularly known worldwide as Ghaus-e-Azam or Dastgeer Sahab, on fire in downtown Srinagar, Indian Kashmir, on May 25, 2012.

Women wail outside the shrine after it caught fire.

A man tries to put out part of the fire.

Residents battle the fire.

Kashmiri Muslims shout religious slogans after retrieving relics from the burning shrine.

A Kashmiri Muslim schoolboy throws a stone at policemen during a protest after the fire broke out.

A distressed Kashmiri woman outside the shrine.

Muslim residents carry their belongings as they evacuate their houses amid ongoing violence in Sittwe, capital of Myanmar's western state of Rakhine on Tuesday. Dozens of people have been killed in a surge in sectarian violence in Myanmar, an official said on Tuesday as international pressure grew for an end to the bloodshed. A state of emergency has been declared in western Rakhine state, which has been rocked by a wave of rioting and arson, posing a major test for the reformist government which took power last year.

A resident walks through the smouldering remains of a burned house in Sittwe, capital of Myanmar's western state of Rakhine.

Bangladeshi Border Guard (BGB) personnel keep watch at a wharf in Taknaf on June 12, 2012, following the religious violence in neighbouring Myanmar. A Rohingya Muslim died in a Bangladeshi hospital June 12, days after he was shot allegedly by Myanmar security forces during last week's sectarian violence, police said. Bangladeshi border guards have been turning back boats transporting Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Myanmar, officials said, as the UN refugee agency called for the border to be opened.

A Rohingya Muslim family, who fled Myanmar to Bangladesh to escape religious violence, sits at a relief camp in Taknaf, Bangladesh, on Tuesday. Bangladesh on Tuesday turned away three boats carrying 1,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in neighboring Myanmar, bringing to 1,500 the number of refugees blocked in recent days, officials said.

An ethnic Rakhine man holds homemade weapons as he walks in front of houses that were burnt during fighting between Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya communities in Sittwe on Sunday. Northwest Myanmar was tense on Monday after sectarian violence engulfed its largest city at the weekend, with Reuters witnessing rival mobs of Muslims and Buddhists torching houses and police firing into the air to disperse crowds.

Policemen move towards burning houses during fighting between Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya communities in Sittwe on Sunday. Northwest Myanmar was tense on Monday after sectarian violence engulfed its largest city at the weekend, with Reuters witnessing rival mobs of Muslims and Buddhists torching houses and police firing into the air to disperse crowds.

Ethnic Rakhine people get water from a firefighter truck to extinguish fire set to their houses during fighting between Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya communities in Sittwe.

An ethnic Rakhine woman carries her belongings and a sharpened bamboo stick for protection during fighting between Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya communities in Sittwe on Sunday.

A Buddhist monk looks from the window behind a policeman during fighting between Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya communities in Sittwe.

Sharia Islamic police stop women on motorcycles for wearing tight jeans, during a Sharia law police raid in Banda Aceh, Indonesia on Thursday. Shops in Indonesia's Aceh province, where Islamic law is in force, will soon be banned from selling tight-fitting clothes, an official said on June 7. The announcement was made after religious police in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, stopped and reprimanded more than 50 women and three men for violating the Islamic dress code, including wearing tight clothing and shorts.

A Sharia policeman (L) lectures some women who were arrested for wearing tight jeans, during a Sharia law police Islamic raid in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

Two men, standing and second from right, are seen with wax figures depicting Shiite clerics at the wax museum in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq, in a picture taken on Feb. 18, 2012 and made available today.

The exhibit is the brainchild of Sheik Ali Mirza, a Shiite cleric. He says the figures are so lifelike visitors sometimes "raise their hands to salute the statues as if they were alive."

Students hold placards as they shout anti-U.S slogans during a rally in Pakistan on Feb. 27. About 40 students gathered to protest and condemn the burning of copies of the Quran. The banner reads, "Those that desecrated the Koran in Afghanistan should be publicly hanged."

An Afghan boy who works at a bakery watches a protest outside his window in Kabul on Feb. 24. Twelve people were killed on Friday in the bloodiest day yet in protests that have raged across Afghanistan over the desecration of copies of the Muslim holy book at a NATO military base with riot police and soldiers on high alert braced for more violence.

Afghan men shout anti-U.S. slogans during a demonstration in Jalalabad province on Feb. 24.

Afghan demonstrators shout anti-US slogans during a protest against Koran desecration in Kabul on Feb. 24.

Afghan demonstrators burn a U.S. flag during a protest against Quran desecration in Helmand province on Feb. 23, 2012, the third day of violent protests that have left at least 12 people dead.

Afghan policemen fire towards protesters during a protest in Kabul on Feb. 23, 2012.

An Afghan policeman runs after confiscating a U.S. flag from protesters in Kabul on Feb. 23, 2012.