ISLAMABAD: President Dr. Arif Alvi shares his top 10 reads of 2023 covering various topics including politics, history, Sufism, artificial intelligence (AI) and astronomy while providing his intellectual analysis from the perspectives of the modern world. In a detailed video message, the President shared that the goal of his extensive study was motivated by his quest to explore Allah’s universe, Sufism, democracy, Pakistan, his passion for artificial intelligence and global peace and development.
The President advised people to read “Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy” written by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, which provided a mathematical analysis of the revival of democracies in the world, whether as a result of any struggle or accidents. It outlines the difficult path of recovering human rights from dictators, which includes centuries of struggle as well as elite resistance to democracy.
The book “Democracy and Islam in History” by SM Zafar delves into the democratic processes observed during the election of the four Caliphs and how they established democratic and judicial institutions. It highlights the development and importance of consultative practices in Islamic history.
The book refers to a letter by Hazrat Umar (RA) in which he advises one of his judges to maintain access to the masses, facilitate the litigants, enforce decisions and revise judgments if they are considered against the spirit of justice. President Alvi also emphasized that he paid special attention to poor litigants and those from remote regions when hearing objections to the ombudsmen’s decisions. “The Impossible State: Islam, Politics, and the Moral Predicament of Modernity” by Wael B. Hallaq examines the historical development of legislative processes in Islamic history. He points out that during the Caliphates, the rulers did not make laws, but the Muftis interpreted them based on the Qur’an, the Sunnah and previous precedents. President Alvi outlined the five basic principles of an Islamic state: protecting life and property, ensuring freedom of thought and religion for all, and promoting a free society.
The President also recommended Elif Shafak’s book “The Forty Rules of Love: On Mawlana Rumi and Shams Tabraizi”, which explores Sufism and the deep friendship between Rumi and Tabraizi. Rumi described the Holy Qur’an as a guiding light for humanity and offered a unique perspective on love: “Love yourself, love your family, love your fellow man, love your nation, love humanity, love all that Allah has created, love your prophet and love Allah.” encouraging people to begin their journey of love from the most immediate to the divine. Also among the president’s top reads was Michio Kaku’s “The God Equation: The Quest for a Theory of Everything,” which charts the evolution of our understanding of the universe over time, from the Aristotelian concept of four elemental components—earth, water, fire, and air – to modern scientific discoveries such as magnetic fields, radio waves, atoms and nuclei. He says that the universe visible to humans is only 5% of its total size, with dark matter making up 26% and dark energy 70%. The president endorsed the book “On the Origin of Time” by Thomas Hertog, a student of Stephen Hawking, which delves into the anthropic principle of the creation of the universe. The book supports the Quranic concept that Allah created the universe for mankind and out of love for the Holy Prophet. Quoting Stephen Hawking, the President mentioned that while we currently perceive three to four dimensions, there are another 10 dimensions and parallel universes inhabited by diverse, undiscovered beings.
The president also studied Mo Gawdat’s “Scary Smart: The Future of Artificial Intelligence and How You Can Save Our World,” which looked at the world’s growing fear of artificial intelligence. The author argues against human expectations of controlling AI and claims that by 2040-50 AI will be billions of times more powerful than humans. Another book suggested by Alvi was “Honor Bound to Pakistan in Duty, Destiny and Death: Iskandar Mirza, Memoirs of Pakistan’s First President in Exile”, written by Syed Khawar Mehdi, which is a compilation of Mirza’s tape recordings, interviews and notes.
One of the president’s best reads is “Fear: An Alternative History of the World” by Robert Pekham, which explores the pervasive role of fear throughout history, both as a means of control and as a necessary element of governance. The book provides historical examples, including the mistreatment of indigenous peoples, the rise of industrial capitalism, and the destruction caused by wars, drawing parallels with contemporary concerns experienced by communities such as those in Karachi and Gaza.
Another interesting book was 10 Things That Go Bump in The Universe: How Astronomers Decode Cosmic Chaos by C. Renee James, which highlights the vast scale of the universe, from the smallest particles to the largest celestial bodies. He shared scientific facts such as the human body containing billions of germs, 40 trillion cells and 30 trillion bacteria, each cell consisting of 100 trillion atoms. In addition, the book discusses astronomical wonders such as the largest known black hole, which is 69 billion times the size of the Sun, and the largest star, which is five billion times the size of the Sun.
Finally, the president said that seeking knowledge was good, but first we must have a loving heart. The real strength of our country has been our family values based on morality and the expressed hope that Pakistan has all the potential to lead and present an example of a loving state to the world. We all have to come forward and contribute our share to the same, he added.
