Horrified, Iman, now 20, refused.
Her experience shines a light on the rise in Iraq of fanatical cults devoted to Imam Mahdi, the Shiites' 12th imam....The Shiite faithful believe that in the world's darkest hour, Imam Mahdi will return and bring justice and calm....
Devout Sunnis also believe in the Mahdi's coming, but do not think it involves the Shiite imam....
Dr. Hassan, a psychology professor at Baghdad's Mustansiriya University who declined to give his full name because of worries about his safety, explained that some Iraqis had embraced conservative Shiite traditions with zeal after the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein, who had oppressed the country's Shiite majority....
Iman, who also declined to give her full name, discovered the world of cults as she sought solace in religion in the months after her husband's death. A friend suggested she do something positive while waiting for Imam Mahdi's return....
The woman suggested that Iman sleep with her husband if she wanted to help speed up the Mahdi's return....
Others shared similar stories about the group, called Mumahidoon, or "those who prepare the way....."
Although Iraqi security officials dismiss the idea that such cults pose a genuine threat, Hassan is not convinced. "The cults in our society," he warned, "could pose a danger." (http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-cults15-2008oct15,0,7562112.story)
Observations
1) Kudos to the "LA Times" for  being one of the few outlets to consistently cover Mahdism in Iraq, but it nonetheless gets some basic facts about Mahdism wrong: a) the Mahdi is far more than merely a "Shiite Muslim saint;" b) groups of Mahdist believers are not ipso facto "fanatical cults"--unless one wishes to posit that Shi`ism itself, with 150 million or so followers worldwide, is a huge "cult;" and c) most importantly, this correspondent creates a false dichotomy between mainstream Shi`is who, in his words, believe the Mahdi "will return and bring justice and calm" and members of these "cults" who see him as more violent.  I just spent a week in Tehran and Qom this past August at the annual Mahdism conference, and I can assure you that there are plenty of mainstream Twelver Shi`is there--not just clerics, but academics and politicians, as well as ordinary Iranians--who believe that the Mahdi will create a global caliphate by force of arms; in fact, one of the points of debate at the conference in Iran was whether the Mahdi would force all Jews and Christians to convert to Islam, or simply kill us all [see my earlier, archived posts].  This attempt--whether willful or not--by the "LA Times" to reduce the Mahdi to a benign, pacifist, Christ-like figure who would never use violence reminds me of the ongoing attempt by those in the media to redefine jihad as merely "trying to be a good Muslim," ignorning all the Qur'anic, Hadith and historical evidence of jihad as violent holy war.
2) More kudos to the "Times" for avoiding the mainstream media take that Mahdism is purely a Shi`i phenomenon. What would be interesting--indeed, crucial--is some information on whether Sunnis in Iraq are involved in any of these Mahdist movements.  Anecdotal information I've been able to  glean indicates that they are, at least in small numbers.  If Mahdism in Iraq, or anywhere else in the Islamic world, truly becomes ecumenical--watch out.
3) This Mustansiriya University professor confirms what I wrote and said in a paper I presented at the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa in Washington, D.C., in April of this year: that before the American invasion, "Saddam Husayn kept such a tight Sunni Ba`athist lid on Twelver Shi`ism that Mahdism would never boil forth in Iraq"--at least as long as he was in power.  President Bush's toppling of one of the Muslim world's most brutal tyrants, ironically enough, has now unleashed the jinn (genie) of Mahdism in that country--although it's Ahmadinejad who keeps rubbing the lamp.
4) Past Mahdist claimants in Islamic history often had multiple wives, as per the ancient acceptance of polygamy in Islam. This is the first instance I've seen, however, of hastening the Mahdi's appearance by having women serve as concubines to his male followers.  But considering the ongoing validity of mu`tah--"temporary marriage"--in Shi`ism, why should this come as a surprise? (For some background on mu`tah, see my piece in PajamasMedia: http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/converting-the-west-to-islam-through-sex/)   At least sex to hasten his appearance beats violence to do so (no pun intended; and let's just hope no one decides to combine the two). 
5) Is there any relationship, beyond the name, between these Mumahidun and the newly-reconfigured Jaysh al-Mahdi of Muqtada al-Sadr? Might al-Sadr be one of the "Friends of the Mahdi" enjoying, well, such fringe benefits?
6) I concur, again, with the good Iraqi professor that the government in Baghdad (and Washington, I would add) dismisses such eschatological movements at its own peril.  The very basis of Shi`ism is the belief which even this professor reduces to a "cult:" the appearance of a supremely-charismatic, divinely-directed religious figure who will take over the world. And again, such belief is NOT limited to the minority branch of Islam.  If history is any guide, odds are that at some point in the not-too-distant future a Muslim leader will arise who has sizable contingents of followers among both Shi`is and Sunnis. If we're lucky, such a movement will be confined only to Iraq.
But I wouldn't bet on it.