The Basseri are Shia Muslims who accept the prescriptions and prohibitions of Islam to the extent that they are familiar with them. The Basseri, however, seem not to be very familiar with Muslim beliefs, customs, and ceremonies. There is some confusion among the Basseri with respect to the divisions and events of the Muslim year, even though they are continually reminded of them through their contacts with sedentary villages. Even when they are aware of specific customs, they are not consistent in observing them. Islamic feast days are rarely celebrated. Even the fast of Ramadan and the feast of Moharram, which are of central importance to the surrounding Muslims, are observed by only a few Basseri. Rituals are more often connected with the life cycle—birth, marriage, death—than with Islamic traditions.