They break the fast with iftar, an evening meal. Security across Iraq is better than it’s been in years, and this Ramadan brought a much smaller upswing in violence than previous ones did.

This is the third Ramadan in a foreign country for a Syrian refugee family living on the outskirts of Dohuk in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. In the kitchen of a small three room apartment, eggplant ...

Ironically, Mosul residents had a Ramadan much like any other in 2014, when it started just days after IS had proclaimed its “caliphate” spanning tracts of Syria and Iraq.

1. The boom of the iftar cannon The end of the day’s fast—as well the initial start of Ramadan—is hailed with a boom. Antique cannons fired by police mark iftar, or breaking the fast, at sunset.

Ramadan is a time to exercise charity and build community building and bonding. The sense of unity in Ramadan extends beyond families to the entire global Muslim community (Ummah).