Food is a central component of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began on June 18. Believers fast from dawn to dusk, rising before dawn every day for the pre-fast suhoor meal and finishing the fast with an iftar meal as the sun comes down.

While food traditions vary across the Muslim world, for many the holiday is a time for charity and community.

Haaretz collected images of the observant preparing for and celebrating the iftar meal in countries from Africa through the Middle East and East Asia during the first week of Ramadan this year.

A volunteer carries food as people wait to eat their iftar meal to break their fast at charity tables that offer free food during the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Cairo, Egypt, June 23, 2015. (Reuters)

People eat their iftar meal as they break their fast during the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Cairo, Egypt, June 23, 2015. (Reuters)

Palestinian vendors sell food at the end of the daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan outside Jerusalem's Old City, June 23, 2015. (Reuters)

An Indian Muslim devotee prepares food prior to breaking the fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan at the Jama-e-Masjid Aiwan in Hyderabad on June 22, 2015. (AFP)

Indian workers carry dried seviiyan (thin vermicelli), used for the preparation of sheerkhorma, a traditional sweet dish prepared by the Muslim community during the holy month of Ramadan, at a food factory in Hyderabad on June 23. (AFP)

Indian Muslim devotees pray prior to breaking their fast on the Islamic holy month of Ramadan at the Jama-e-Masjid Aiwan in Hyderabad on June 22, 2015. (AFP)

Pakistanis break their Ramadan fast at a mosque in Lahore on June 23, 2015. (Reuters)

A Pakistani man prepares food for devotees to break their Ramadan fast with at a mosque in Lahore on June 23, 2015. (Reuters)

Afghan laborers work at a traditional jelabi (sweets) factory during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in Herat province on June 22, 2015. (AFP)

An Afghan street vendor sells bread during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Kabul, Afghanistan, June 23, 2015. (AP)

An internally displaced Afghan family breaks their fast during the holy month of Ramadan in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, June 20, 2015. (AP)

Syrian refugees break their fast on June 20, 2015 in Akcakale, Turkey, during the holy month of Ramadan. The UN's refugee agency marked World Refugee Day on June 20 in Damascus. (AFP)

Indonesian Muslims prepare to break the fast by purchasing sweets at a food festival for Ramadan in Jakarta on June 23, 2015. (AFP)

A vendor sells cucumber melons, locally known as timun suri, a type of fruit popular during the fasting month of Ramadan, at a market in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, June 22, 2015. The fruit is prepared as a sweet drink. (AP)

Indonesian Muslims prepare to break the fast by purchasing sweets at a food festival for Ramadan in Jakarta on June 23, 2015. (AFP)

A vendor sells local food to take away for iftar during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, outside the Grand Mosque of Koumassi in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on June 19, 2015. (AFP)

Somali families receive an iftar - break the fast - meal from a Qatari charity organization during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, June 22, 2015. (Reuters)

A Kuwaiti employee displays a tray of traditional Arab sweets at a sweets shop during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, on June 20, 2015, in Kuwait City. (AFP)