The Sunnís, [as compared to the Shi’ah sect of Islam], …take a less exalted view of the office of those who have succeeded the High Prophet. They regard the vicegerency less as a spiritual than as a practical matter. The Khalíf is, in their eyes, the Defender of the Faith, and he owes his appointment to the choice and approval of the People.
- Shoghi Effendi (‘Introduction to ‘The Dawn-Breakers’)