Following the end of World War I, Sharif Husayn sought to strike a deal with Ibn Saud over the al-Khurma oasis. The conflict at that point expanded from a political dispute into a religious sectarian dimension, with the Wahhabis of Nejd standing against the orthodox Sunni Hashemites. Sharif Husayn decided on another expedition to Khurma. Though aware of the coming dispute, the British turned a blind eye to the Hashemite advances, largely underestimating the strength of the Saudis, who the British thought would be quickly overran.
