Ramadan is a time of togetherness for Muslims, as they fill mosques for hours of prayer and share large, lavish meals with family, friends and neighbors after days of dawn-to-dusk fasting.

Indonesian Muslims perform an evening prayer called 'tarawih' marking the first eve of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025.

Jakarta. Several Muslim groups in Indonesia have started observing the fasting month of Ramadan earlier than the official government announcement. Among them is the An-Nadzir congregation in Gowa Regency, South Sulawesi, which began fasting on Friday, despite the government not yet declaring the first day of Ramadan.