(VOVworld)- The Muslim holy month of Ramadan is over. According Ramadan tradition, people were supposed to pray and do good deeds during this month, but conflicts and bloody clashes in several countries tarnished the sacredness of this holy month.

Ramadan, in Arabic means the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.  Muslims worldwide observe this month as a month of fasting. The month lasts 29 or 30 days based on visual sightings of the crescent moon, usually beginning in the late July. Fasting from dawn until sunset, Muslims refrain from consuming food, smoking, or drinking liquids to show their sympathy for the poor and less unfortunate and encourage people to refrain from material temptations, so they might go to heaven after they die. But this year, Ramadan violence in several Muslim countries including Syria, Lebanon and Afghanistan marred the holy month.

Syrian women pray during Laylat Al Qadr, the 27th day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in font of the Syrian embassy in Amman, Jordan, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012. Source: AP

This year’s Ramadan month was the second since last year’s Arab Spring movement shook the Middle East. Dozens of clashes took place in Iraq this month killing more than 400 people and injuring nearly 1,000. The worst violence took place on July 23, killing 113 people and on August 16, killing 80 people. Extremists and terrorists involved with the Al Qaeda network claimed responsibility for the violence.

The Syrian conflict is worsening. Deadly clashes between the government army and opposition forces are spreading throughout the country. Even during the Ramadan, the violence didn’t slow. On August 19, Eid Al Fitr Day, the most important day of the holy month, at least 60 deaths were added to the total of 23,000 already listed. 70,000 Syrians have fled their home to seek refuge in neighboring countries. All efforts to restore peace have faded. In the last two days, the last maintaining UN observers left Damascus ending their failed mission after 4 months of frustration.

The conflict in Syria, pitting Syria’s Sunni community against President Bashar Al Assad, an Alawite follower, has spilled into Lebanon, sparkling violence between the Sunni and Alawite communities in Tripoli. Clashes took place during the final days of Ramadan in several districts killing at least 15 people. The unrest in Lebanon has prompted other countries to recall their citizens who have been working in Lebanon.

Iranians attend Friday prayers, during Islam's holy month of Ramadan, at the Tehran University campus, on 27 July 2012. (Photo: AFP)

Meanwhile, a rumor is circulating about a possible Israeli military attack against Iran’s nuclear establishment this autumn. On Jerusalem Day on August 17, 1,500 Palestinian people marched along streets in the Gaza strip to protest Israel’s occupation of Jerusalem, the holy city of the Muslims. This was an annual activity of the Shiite Muslim people launched by the Iranian government. However, this year, the demonstration took place amidst of an all out war in the Middle-East fanned by tough speeches by leaders in Israel and Iran.  After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak spoke publicly about the possibility of launching a military operation against Iran, the leader of the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon Hassan Nasrallah vowed to make the lives of Israelis a living hell if Lebanon was attacked. Nasrallah said rockets are already directed at Israeli targets and ready to be launched should Israel attack Lebanon. Iranian President Mamoud Ahmadinejad said there’s no place for Israel in the new Middle East.