Sheik al-Hakim; 'Nothing Is Cast in Stone'.(Interview)

Byline: Rod Nordland

Ayatollahs, like popes, do not give press interviews. But they do want to be heard. Grand Ayatollah Muhammed Hussein Saeed al-Hakim is one of Iraq's top four ayatollahs, who make up the howza , the supreme religious authority for the country's Shiite Muslims. Another grand ayatollah, Ali Sistani, the most senior of the four members of the howza, is so influential that when he called for direct elections to choose a government to rule Iraq, the Americans felt obliged to comply. Last week he accepted a plan to hold a ballot by the year-end. Al-Hakim's spokesman and son, Sheik Muhammed Hussein al-Hakim, met with NEWSWEEK's Rod Nordland at the cleric's home in Najaf. His views are those of his father and the howza, he explained, including Sistani. Excerpts:

NORDLAND: Beginning March 2, Iraq's Shia will for the first time be able to celebrate ashura, honoring the martyrdom of Imam Hussein. The self-flagellation ceremonies are famous but the holiday also calls for passing out food and drink at mosques. Under Saddam, even serving a free cup of tea was considered an offense.

AL-HAKIM: It was revolutionary, because recalling Imam Hussein--peace be upon him--is an example for all people who are unjustly treated. Last year in Karbala, Saddam's men executed 15 people because they cried "O Hussein."

After so much tragedy, how do you see the future for Iraq's Shia?

The oppression, then, was by a violent minority over the nonviolent majority. That is over. This is the beginning of a future for Iraq in which the rights of the individual are respected.

How do you feel about the U.S. occupation?