The Pronouncements of the Exilarch

Here at State of Exile, we acknowledge Naim Dangoor, British-Iraqi-Jewish real estate tycoon and self-declared Exilarch of the Babylonian Jews, to be Exilarch of all Jews. Here are some of his more noteworthy pronouncements, as made in his journal, The Scribe.



On Adam:

It is time to rehabilitate Adam and honour him not only as the father of our agricultural civilisation but also as the founder of Monotheism.

On Buddhism:

Buddhism is not a religion, but a philosophy. That and other cults, which have no contact with Jehovah, are man-made fairy tales.

On the Creation:

Modern science has confirmed the inspired knowledge of our ancestors regarding the origin of the Universe and its creation out of nothing which started with the Big Bang. Encouraged by this information, even serious Bible scholars are trying to find scientific proof in every word of the Bible which is overdoing it.

On Cyrus:

It is interesting to observe here that in 1971 Iran celebrated the 2500th anniversary, a Jubilee of Jubilees, of Cyrus’s Empire. As Israel was not going to be represented I offered to the Iranian Embassy to lead a delegation of Iraqi Jews to Persepolis to pay homage to the memory of Cyrus and his enlightened and tolerant rule. Teheran found it difficult to arrange this at short notice and we were invited instead to the reception at the Savoy Hotel which was attended by the Diplomatic Corps and other distinguished guests including members of the government, when I and twenty members of the community delivered to the Ambassador an illuminated scroll to commemorate the occasion. The Shah later expressed his appreciation and thanks.

On the Death of God:

We know now, of course, that the Universe is self-sustaining and does not need anyone to direct its movements. In fact, any outside interference would be disastrous. There is no need, therefore, for G-d to take any part in the running of his Creation. Thus, if G-d created the Universe but is no longer there, when did He pass away? Surely, G-d who created time could not have disappeared at a moment in time. G-d could only have disappeared with the Big Bang. It was the simultaneous moment of G-d's demise and the Creation of the Universe. In other words, the Universe is G-d's wonderful memorial.

On the Diaspora:

At the inauguration of the Commonwealth Jewish Council last year, Francis Pym who was Foreign Minister remarked in his speech that it was no longer true to say that the sun never sets on the British Empire. But that it is true to say that the sun never sets on the Jewish Diaspora. The Diaspora can be looked upon as Israel’s Empire. There is no need for Israel to swallow up the communities of the Diaspora one after another. In the absence of a Mashiyah, Diaspora Jews want by and large to stay put.

On the Dome of the Rock:

When the Moslems conquered Jerusalem they offered the site of the Temple to be re-built by the Jews, who refused to take it. Then the Moslem conquerors waited fifty years - the Jubilee period of the Bible, after which land reverts to the authority Of the State. It was then that the Dome of the Rock was built by King Abdul Malik; that is the re-built Temple of King Solomon, which should now be open to Moslems, Jews and Christians and to all others who acknowledge the One True God.



It is now for the Muslims to make the next move. Their leaders should declare that the Dome Of The Rock is the historic temple to the One True God, and invite the Jews and the Christians as well as all other believers to participate there in a combined act of worship.

On Eden:

Where was the Garden of Eden - Gannat Adam, in Arabic? In Aden, of course, in southern Arabia. Adam spoke a version of ancient Arabic, and is reputed to be buried in Hejaz.

On European Culture:

After Auschwitz All European Culture is Trash

On Idols:

The move by Afghanistan’s religious leaders to destroy the idols of Buddhism is to be applauded. They offend the followers of monotheism, worshippers of the one true God, Creator and Sustainer of our universe, especially Jews and Moslems.

On Man's Destiny:

Israel means "one who struggles with the momentum of nature. Islam means to submit to the momentum of nature. Our destiny is to become Gods.

On Mauritania:

If Jerusalem is expendable, then what is left to keep us there, a troublesome corner of the world for the past 3,000 years? In an overall peace deal with all the Arabs, we might be able to swap Israel for Mauritania, a more strategic and more convenient location, forty times the size of Israel and very sparsely populated, next to a friendly Morocco. Soon the Jews would make the desert bloom, and I for one will hasten to go there. Would the Palestinians have second thoughts and beg us to stay?

On the Middle East:

The tradition and personality of Abraham can be used as a basis to forge a democratic federation of the Fertile Crescent comprising Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan - all Abraham’s country in which still live a score of different nationalities. Of these only the Arabs would oppose and frustrate such a union, in order that they may achieve complete Arabisation.



The ideal capital for such a federation would be at Abu-Kemal, half-way on the Euphrates and near Mari of old in which Abraham once lived. What better name can such a capital have than that of Abraham?

On Monotheism:

I would encourage new branches in Monotheism. The movement can then expand into the unknown areas and bring the whole of mankind within the belief in the One True God. Jews started it and Jews should take it forward. Judaism was never meant to convert the world. "We saved ourselves by our endeavours and we hope to save the world by our example".

On National Autonomy

The defeats of 586 BCE and 70 BCE were the outcome of involvement in the struggle between Egypt and Babylon and between Rome and Persia. Today, Israel’s dependence on American Jewry which, in every way, is the modern counterpart of the Babylonian Diaspora could embroil the Jewish State in America’s problems.

On Racism:

Racism is terrorism. The proper way to deal with it is by counter-terrorism.

On Resurrection:

Science has now demonstrated that each individual has a specific number consisting of millions of digits. A milestone has recently been achieved, considered to be the most important of all time in discovering and tabulating the complete human genom. From this it follows that eventually a dead person may be recreated from the DNA taken from his bones. Isn't that fulfilment of G-d's promise of the future revival of the dead?

On Wheat:

The aphrodisiac quality of wild wheat promoted Adam’s eating of the Forbidden Fruit being associated with the dawn of sexual awareness.