As part of a series of events held in honor of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Muslim Students Association hosted a lecture by a Harvard Divinity School professor Thursday on the sometimes tenuous relationship between Islam and democracy.Jocelyn Sesari, a specialist in Islamic Studies and anthropology, addressed the secularization of Islam, often making references to her most recent book, When Islam and Democracy Meet: Muslims in Europe and the United States.

Sesari also discussed the inaccuracies of most public information about Muslims. According to Sesari, most researchers "spent time looking at the politicization of Islam, but not the basic facts of Muslims' real life."

Another topic she discussed was the effects of postmodernism and globalization on Islam.

She spoke of the "cosmopolitan attitude" of some more secular Muslims-an aspect of Islam's religionists that, according to her, the media ignores. According to Sesari, these Muslims believe "what is different does not hurt me, but enriches me."

According to Sesari, globalization has helped to break down tensions between immigrants and their countries of origin, making the Muslim community in the West more mainstream.

"The Muslim community in the West is no longer peripheral," Sesari said. "Muslims in the West are central in the debate over Islam today."

Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic calendar and when the Koran was said to have been revealed, began this year on Oct. 17 and will end Nov. 15. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset.