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The end of August marked the beginning of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan. Faithful around the world honor the holy month with – among other things – a daylong fast.

We begin with France 24, which reports on a controversy in Lebanon they say is all too familiar to Christians: whether the holiday is becoming too commercialized.

“Hotels and restaurants lay on lavish iftahs, the sunset meals with which Muslims break their fasts. Ramadan nights are a welcome boost to Lebanon’s ravaged economy, but some fear the spiritual aspect of Ramadan is being forgotten.”

At the other end of the continuum, Al Jazeera English talks to peasants in war-torn Gaza who are forced to fast as a way of life, regardless of the month.

“It’s not just the war that has destroyed Ramadan this year, it’s the economic situation. There is no income for the people. It’s depressing.”

Istanbul newspaper ‘Today’s Zaman,’ provides prospective from an American who formerly lived in Turkey. Though not a Muslim herself, she looks back with mixed emotions.

“I do see where people always offer someone around them something to eat once the fasting hours have ended…[but] I've noticed that drivers get really crazy and forget why they are fasting in the first place.”

Finally, back in the U.S., President Obama held a Ramadan feast of his own with Muslim leaders and delivered a message to the Mulsim community. The San Francisco Chronicle gets input from Nathan Brown of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, who says the president was extending a hand to Muslims near and far.

“To non-Muslims, it tries to teach a little about Ramadan, to US Muslims it affirms that they are part of this society, to non-American Muslim ‘communities’ ... there is a message of warmth and inclusiveness.”