DUBAI (AFP) - Arabs began the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in reflective mood, as violence across much of their world brought reminders from their leaders of true Islam's tolerant nature -- backed by increases in security.
Across the Middle East, most were getting into Ramadan mode for a month of fasting and prayer as well as lavish banquets in Bedouin-style tents and late-night social gatherings.
Just a few countries were still waiting to sight the crescent moon and begin Ramadan on Saturday, while in Iraq the Sunnis saw violence usher in the start of the month as their Shiite compatriots waited a further 24 hours.
Palestinians too saw Ramadan greeted with continued violence, despite an announcement by the Israelis that their lethal offensive in the northern Gaza Strip was being scaled back, but not ended.
In Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, authorities geared up to receive pilgrims from abroad during the holy month when Muslims fast and abstain from smoking and sexual intercourse from dawn to dusk.
An official at the pilgrimage ministry said three million pilgrims were expected for the umra (small pilgrimage), in addition to an anticipated 1.5 million from within the kingdom.
The kingdom's leaders, King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, said in a joint statement: "Muslims must act ... in keeping with the tolerant Islamic creed, which rejects violence, extremism, terrorism and the intimidation of peaceable people, while advocating... moderation and centrism."
Saudi Arabia has been hit by a wave of attacks by suspected Islamist extremists, and the authorities are taking no chances during Ramadan. The government is deploying an estimated 3,000 policemen to provide security in Mecca.
It has also warned citizens and foreign residents against buying vouchers allegedly meant to fund fast-breaking meals for the needy, saying the money might go to bankroll attacks.
With public administrations across the region reducing working hours and many private enterprises following suit, Muslims were preparing for the first of the nightly reunions with family and friends that begin after the special "Taraweeh" prayers and often last into the early hours of morning.
In Kuwait, where day turns into night and night into day during Ramadan, diwaniyas -- traditional all-male meeting places -- were ready to receive their first-day customers, making up for what many Kuwaitis see as a weakening of social bonds resulting from oil wealth-induced changes in their lifestyles.
But the increasingly festive Ramadan habits, including lavish banquets, are not without their critics.
In gas-rich Qatar, where a five-star hotel said it had stumped up 70,000 dollars to fix a bedouin-style tent for its customers, some newspaper columnists condemned what they saw as rituals that have little to do with the Ramadan spirit of abstinence and charity.
Of particular concern to the pious is what one commentator in Qatar called "the Ramadan TV fest of fashion, make-up, flirtation and illegitimate mixing (between the sexes)."
An Islamist member of parliament in Bahrain -- where the better off Sunnis and the majority Shiites unusually started Ramadan together this year -- said the government should give each family 500 dinars (1,329 dollars) to help them cope with rising costs of living.
Many well-off Arabs make a point of sharing during Ramadan, offering free "iftar" meals to the needy, in addition to those provided by charities and some governments.
In impoverished Yemen, people of modest means join the buying spree that marks Ramadan and climaxes with the advent of Eid al-Fitr at the end of the holy month.
"It is as if people sample a variety of foods only during Ramadan and buy clothes for their children only for Eid al-Fitr," said one commentator.
The country has also experienced some of the violence that seems endemic to the region, and Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh echoed the calls of other leaders in a Ramadan greeting.
Islam disavows "extremism, violence and terrorism... That is why our country is exerting immense efforts to combat and uproot terrorism, and to tackle extremism in all possible ways..." he said.
Ramadan can also be a time of frayed nerves in Yemen, particularly in the hour preceding iftar, when fights and traffic accidents multiply, and many people end up breaking their fast in police stations.