Pakistan’s defense minister, Khawaja Asif, rather excitedly proclaimed a new defense agreement – the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement – between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey as the beginnings of a “Muslim NATO” last week. He proceeded to call on Muslim countries to set aside their differences and join them. The Saudis and Pakistanis signed a not dissimilar pact to the Mecca Agreement in September last year, with almost identical collective security provisions. The reaction to the Mecca Agreement has been somewhat cautious so far. A “Muslim NATO” may not be an exact, or even helpful, analogy for it, but the Mecca Agreement does mark a watershed.