Mahershala Ali won the first award at Sunday night’s Academy Awards, picking up the trophy for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of a multilayered drug dealer in “Moonlight.” He’s also a practicing Muslim, a real rarity among the exclusive club of Oscar winners.
While Ali is likely the first male Muslim actor to ever win an Oscar (the Academy doesn’t exactly track winners by religion), he’s not the first winner or nominee to identify with the religion.
Ellen Burstyn, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1974 for her starring role in Martin Scorsese’s “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” has studied Sufism, another branch of Islam.