Mindfulcoug, please tell me about "temporary marriages"?
 

The only time I heard about it is when I was listening to a radio piece about a documentary of prosititutes in India. And how they sent their oldest daughter to Saudi Arabia (she was like 15 years old) for a "temporary marriage". Which meant she was to submit herself for sex for a few months, then come back home. Anyway she refused to have sex, and she was sent home after a time, to the disgrace of her family.

So what is it all about?

islam is all about logic ,so it wouldnot tell you suppress your natural demands or go astray ..if it bannes you from sin ,it should provide you the right path to follow. islamic teachings work as orchestera...which means you arenot allowed to pick up rules which seems pleasent to you and ignore others..
there are lots of recommendations from quran and narrations for people in different ages and groups in order to help them manage thier life demands..

temporary marriage is one the laws which has to performed in a very specific situation as finale step , which is actually wouldnot frequently happen if you got to follow the islamic teaching throughly.

unfortunately as you mentioned in your story ..some muslims really dont care about what islam has to say as a whole concept ..they select what might be working for them and neglect others ,which is in deed a catastrophe for the society .

as a side note .."temporary marriage and polygamy" are considered among the most awful things here in Iran ..although they are still practicing by some people ,but they have never been socially acceptable .
islamic leading clergies believe if those people who decide to live polygamy dont follow the exact islamic teaching will defintely be held responsible as a transgressor at the judgement day.

When would a temporary marriage be considered ok?

What if there was a widow in Iraq with 4 kids going hungry. COuld a man temporarily marry one as a 2nd wife, support them, and then dissolve the marriage when the woman can get back on her own feet after the war is over?

well ..life threatening condition is always surmounting ,and a truely muslim women wouldnot go through those ways ,to feed her kids .a woman doesnot need to be muslim to know if she really trusts god he will never ever leave her alone .
beside that.. the man could simply donates money and send them food ..if it is his reall concern . i a m sure you know what iam talking about.

but yeah ,in any case the temporary marriage's conditions has to be completely considered .it has to be recorded and would bring some responsibilities for both sides ..

to practice polygamy a man has to get his first wife permission ...living polygamy without the first wife permission is absolutely impossible.

Mindful, would there ever be a chance you would consider a temporary marriage for yourself? And does the other person have to be Muslim, and would an American non-Muslim be ok?

At least by her flowers before you propose Mike.

what's a good length of time for a temporary marriage? two months?

I am guessing all you would need is about 30 seconds.

innuendo and jokes aside, I am wondering if mindfulcoug could imagine a scenario where she might be willing to be a temporary bride.