It's a moving month, shifting forward about ten days a year because it's tied to lunar cycles. Its beginning and end are marked by the appearance of the new moon.

Today there are about 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide, nearly one billion of whom live in the Asian Pacific region, according to the Pew Research Center. During Ramadan all of them—except for those who are very young, very old, pregnant, menstruating, ill, or traveling—must fast until sunset, often breaking their fast after sundown with a bite of a date. Since this year Ramadan falls in summer, the season's longer days require longer daily fasts.

"Moslem at prayer in the Mardani Mosque," reads Fisher's handwritten note on the photo's border. "Built 1338-40,