On Oct. 26, the Abu Dhabi Film Festival showcased Linda Mills’ film “Of Many,” a documentary about the developing friendship and interfaith work of NYU chaplains Imam Khalid Latif and Rabbi Yehuda Sarna.

Latif hopes that the film will encourage and empower those who are doing similar interfaith work to what Sarna and he are doing.

“Our story is not unique, there is actually a lot of people who are doing the same kind of work, if not better, but the problem is so much of the narrative that exists right now is more antagonistic in its undertone ... We’re hoping that, as we push out the film on a global level, that people doing similar work are going to feel confident enough to go out and share their stories, as well,” said Latif.

“Of Many” shares the name of The Of Many Institute for Multifaith Leadership, an NYU New York program founded in 2012, that attempts to foster multifaith leadership experiences and tries to ensure harmony on campus. The Institute aims to instill a set of both abstract and practical skills within the student population through service learning trips, trainings, conference, workshops and more. It also aims to help students come together in a diverse society and do meaningful work with people that they might identify as different to themselves.

While the Of Many Institute is currently targeting students at NYUNY, Sarna and Millis, co-founders alongside Chelsea Clinton and Latif, confirmed that the Institute was partially inspired by the applicants they saw during Candidate Weekends at NYU Abu Dhabi.

“Rabbi Sarna, like many of us, [has] been inspired by the small and tightly knit student community in Abu Dhabi and its remarkable diversity. This inspiration, among others, including the remarkable multifaith work we were witnessing in NY, motivated all of us — including students — to start the Of Many institute,” said Mills.

Despite NYUAD playing a role in how the founders of the Institute have thought about multifaith efforts, there is no formal plan for the Institute to appear on the NYUAD campus. Mills commented that since the Institute is a student driven initiative, it will be up to the students to continue to expand the programming to NYU's other campuses and sites.

That said, Latif and Sarna briefly joined the NYUAD community on Oct. 31, when they came together for Friday Prayer, a shared lunch with students about faith and a Shabbat dinner at sunset. On Nov. 2, Latif engaged students and staff in a casual conversation on the topics of globalization, faith and misconceptions about Islam.