Within Shiite bloc, diverse views emerge

Muslim Hamudi Hussein, a serene man with the build of a retired heavyweight, was chatting with friends as a parade of elated voters made their way home from the polls in this Shiite city that embraced Iraq's election like few others.

Asked by two reporters if he knew of anyone whose experiences could spell out what this election meant to the people of Najaf, what they've suffered and what they hope for, he paused. "Why don't you come home with me,'' he said. "I might have a few stories for you."

Did he ever.

The family suffered as much as any under Saddam Hussein, and were past supporters of the religious Shiite parties that probably fared best in the election. But the Husseins were part of what appears to be a surprisingly large minority of Shiites in the south who shunned the traditional religious parties for the secular, paternalistic figure of Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.

Their choice illustrates the diversity of opinion within a Shiite community that is about to enjoy power for the first time in Iraq's history. Far from being monolithic, Iraq's Shiites differ on everything from how to organize the state to the role of clerics in government. These divisions will be played out as the new parliament writes the constitution.

"Since the American invasion we've been suffering a lot because of some religious figures,'' says Muslim Hussein, who at age 40 is the oldest of 11 children. "We followed those parties into trouble before, but since they've been in charge in Najaf, they've forgotten us. They just look after their own favorites and family members."

Vote counting continued Tuesday as Iraq reopened its borders and authorities eased security restrictions put in place for the election. In Baghdad, election workers reviewed tally sheets and began inputting the numbers into computers. Final results are expected to be released early next week.

The United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), a coalition sponsored by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani of religious Shiite parties and some secular figures, almost certainly won the most votes both here and nationwide.

But in Najaf, home to Sistani and Iraq's preeminent center of Shiite scholarship, Mr. Allawi's party was a surprisingly strong second choice of voters in a town where some were predicting a UIA sweep. Every fifth voter interviewed said they had cast a ballot for Allawi. If that trend holds elsewhere, Allawi - a former CIA source and the current American favorite - could be in a strong position when Iraq's new parliament sits.

The Muslim Hussein family history follows the sweep of modern Shiite experience in Iraq - from increasing prosperity for landless southern peasants 50 years ago, through the deprivations under Saddam Hussein that led to support for outlawed Shiite movements, to the present optimism of a long-neglected majority.

But for Muslim Hussein and the members of his extended family, the current optimism is not without complications, nor without fears that the bad old ways could yet return.

Their disaffection with religious political parties grew after Saddam Hussein was toppled. The family had longstanding tiesto the Dawa Party, an Islamist group with links to Iran that along with a similar group, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), backed uprisings against Saddam Hussein's regime in the 1980s and 1990s.

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