My family has been in the military, in one capacity or another, for at least a thousand years. My ancestor, Khattar Khan, was part of Mahmud of Ghazni’s army. He conquered a fort in a city in Northern Pakistan called Attock and, I can only assume, was given the land in the surrounding areas following the tradition of land grants or iqtas that have been a feature of miliary rule in the Muslim world for centuries. His descendants retain control over substantial portions of this land even today.

In more recent times, my great-great grandfather helped a ruthless British general named Nicholson put down the Indian mutiny of 1857. My tribe was considered “martial” by the British and heavily recruited into their armed forces. Led by my ancestor, they formed Nicholson’s personal cavalry and bodyguard. Whenever anyone challenged him to a duel, my great-great grandpa would jump off his horse and kill them.

My grandfather fought for the British too. Only this time it was against the Japanese in the jungles of Burma. He also fought for Pakistan in ’47 and ’65 before retiring as a colonel. Countless members of my family have served in Pakistan’s military, and I have no doubt that I would have too had I not been raised in the US.

I followed in the family tradition when I joined the US miliary. I spent four years getting to know several of America’s Nimitz class aircraft carriers and the F-14 Tomcats that used to protect them. I loved the Navy and thought about making a career out of it but as explained here, 9/11 helped me to realize I had no future in the Navy. I went to law school instead.

My family’s history is tied to the Muslim world’s military history, both its conquests and its many recent defeats. As a result, I have been obsessed with this subject since I was a child. Considering the Muslim world’s unbelievably weak military abilities today, this obsession is now focused on understanding the root causes of this weakness and devising solutions to end it.

It was not until I began my legal career in intellectual property law that I learned to appreciate the connection between politics and military power. My legal career taught me how important the rule of law is for supporting economic and technological development, which are vital for developing miliary power in the modern age. As such, when I propose ways to improve the Muslim world’s military abilities, my suggestions relate to ways to improve its political systems with a view towards improving its economic and technical abilities.

I am currently working on a book that will explain these issues in detail. This blog is merely an appetizer.  You can follow me on twitter under the handle @mirrors_for_the