More Good News From Iraq

I was reading this article about all the recent violence in Iraq -- 10 American troops killed in two days -- and this paragraph jumped out at me:

Two Iraqi officials said that at least 250 gunmen were killed outside of Najaf during an intense battle. Iraqi officials said the gunmen were planning to attack the Shiite holy city of Najaf and assassinate Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the country's top Shiite cleric. Contradictory reports emerged about the group, with some officials saying they were Sunni insurgents and others claiming they were members of various Shiite cults, including one that believes it can hasten the dawn of a new age by committing sins.

That's just great -- first our troops had to deal with the insurgency, and then an Iraqi civil war was added to the mix. Now the U.S. military has to also deal with a cult which believes that sinning is ultimately a good thing. If peace talks ever take place in Iraq, I hope these guys get a seat at the negotiating table. I'd love to hear some of their demands.

And what's up with this cult? Do all sins count as the same, or do really bad sins work to bring about the new age more quickly? And what if a member does a good deed for someone -- are acts of kindness frowned upon in this cult? Would too many acts of kindness somehow delay the onset of this new age?