Muslims celebrate the end of Ramadan

Lee Keath
Thursday 03 November 2005 01:01 GMT
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From the Philippines to Morocco, Muslims are celebrating the start of the Eid al-Fitr holiday. In the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, children paraded through the streets with long candles or rode through the streets waving flags. Children in the West Bank town of Ramallah set off fireworks. Stalls in street markets in Lebanon, Syria and Egypt were packed with sweets and other treats.

Eid al-Fitr - Arabic for the "festival of breaking the fast" - is a time for family gatherings that leave the streets of towns and cities virtually deserted. Ramadan is the month in Islam's lunar calendar when it is believed that the first verses of the Koran were revealed to the prophet Mohamed in the 7th century.

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