# List of Muslim Academy Award winners and nominees

This is a list of Muslim Academy Award winners and nominees. It includes both practicing Muslims and those who have a Muslim background.
Academy Awards, popularly known as Oscars, are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for artistic and technical merit in the film industry.
This list is current as of the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, which was held on April 25, 2021.

## Best Actor in a Leading Role

Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role :
| Ceremony | Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Notes |
| 93rd | 2020 | Riz Ahmed | / | Sound of Metal | Nominated | First Muslim to be nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role |

## Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role :
| Ceremony | Year | Name | Film | Status | Notes |
| 35th | 1962 | Omar Sharif | Lawrence of Arabia | Nominated | First Egyptian to be nominated for an Academy Award in any category |
| 89th | 2016 | Mahershala Ali | Moonlight | Won | First Muslim to win an Academy Award in an acting category |
| 91st | 2018 | Mahershala Ali | Green Book | Won | First Black actor to win Best Actor in a Supporting Role twice |

## Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role :
| Ceremony | Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Notes |
| 76th | 2003 | Shohreh Aghdashloo | / | House of Sand and Fog | Nominated | First Iranian to be nominated for an Academy Award in an acting category |

## Best Animated Short Film

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film :
| Ceremony | Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Notes |
| 97th | 2024 | Shirin Sohani Hossein Molayemi | | In the Shadow of the Cypress | Won | First Muslims to be nominated for -and win- Best Animated Short Film |

## Best Documentary (Feature)

Academy Award for Best Documentary (Feature) :
| Ceremony | Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Notes |
| 39th | 1965 | Haroun Tazieff | / / | Le Volcan interdit | Nominated | Muslim father |
| 85th | 2012 | Emad Burnat | | 5 Broken Cameras | Nominated | Nomination shared with Guy Davidi |
| 86th | 2013 | Jehane Noujaim | | The Square | Nominated | Muslim father and possibly converted mother |
| 86th | 2013 | Karim Amer | / | The Square | Nominated | |
| 88th | 2015 | Asif Kapadia | | Amy | Won | Award shared with James Gay-Rees |
| 90th | 2017 | Feras Fayyad Kareem Abeed | | Last Men in Aleppo | Nominated | Nomination shared with Søren Steen Jespersen |
| 91st | 2018 | Talal Derki | | Of Fathers and Sons | Nominated | Nomination shared with Ansgar Frerich, Eva Kemme, and Tobias N. Siebert |
| 92nd | 2019 | Feras Fayyad | | The Cave | Nominated | Nomination shared with Kirstine Barfod and Sigrid Dyekjær |
| 92nd | 2019 | Waad Al-Kateab | | For Sama | Nominated | Nomination shared with Edward Watts |
| 97th | 2024 | Basel Adra Hamdan Ballal | | No Other Land | Won | Nomination shared with Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham |

## Best Documentary (Short Subject)

Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) :
| Ceremony | Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Notes |
| 84th | 2011 | Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy | / | Saving Face | Won | First Pakistani to be nominated for – and to win – an Academy Award in any category; Award shared with Daniel Junge |
| 86th | 2013 | Sara Ishaq | / | Karama Has No Walls | Nominated | |
| 88th | 2015 | Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy | / | A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness | Won | First Muslim to win two Academy Awards; First female to win Best Documentary (Short Subject) twice |

## Best Live Action Short Film

Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film :
| Ceremony | Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Notes |
| 33rd | 1960 | Ismail Merchant | | The Creation of Woman | Nominated | Nomination shared with Charles F. Schwep |
| 72nd | 1999 | Mehdi Norowzian | / | Killing Joe | Nominated | Nomination shared with Steve Wax |
| 74th | 2001 | Shameela Bakhsh | | Speed for Thespians | Nominated | Nomination shared with Kalman Apple |
| 75th | 2002 | Lexi Alexander | / | Johnny Flynton | Nominated | Muslim father; Nomination shared with Alexander Buono |
| 87th | 2014 | Talkhon Hamzavi | | Parvaneh | Nominated | Nomination shared with Stefan Eichenberger |
| 92nd | 2019 | Meryam Joobeur | / | Brotherhood | Nominated | Nomination shared with Marcia Gracia Turgeon |
| 94th | 2021 | Riz Ahmed | / | The Long Goodbye | Won | Nominated shared with Aneil Karia |

## Best Original Score

Academy Award for Best Original Score :
| Ceremony | Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Notes |
| 81st | 2008 | A. R. Rahman | | Slumdog Millionaire | Won | First Indian to be nominated for – and to win – Best Original Score |
| 83rd | 2010 | A. R. Rahman | | 127 Hours | Nominated | First Asian to be nominated for Best Original Score twice |

## Best Original Song

Academy Award for Best Original Song :
| Ceremony | Year | Name | Film – Song | Status | Notes |
| 81st | 2008 | A. R. Rahman | Slumdog Millionaire – "Jai Ho" | Won | Award shared with Gulzar; First Asian – along with Gulzar – to win Best Original Song; First Asian to be nominated for three Academy Awards in the same year; First Asian to win two Academy Awards in the same year |
| 81st | 2008 | A. R. Rahman | Slumdog Millionaire – "O... Saya" | Nominated | Nomination shared with Mathangi "M.I.A." Arulpragasam; First Asian to be nominated for three Academy Awards in the same year |
| 83rd | 2010 | A. R. Rahman | 127 Hours – "If I Rise" | Nominated | Nomination shared with Rollo Armstrong and Dido |
| 91st | 2018 | SZA | Black Panther – "All the Stars" | Nominated | Nomination shared with Kendrick Lamar, Mark "Sounwave" Spears and Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith |

## Best Picture

Academy Award for Best Picture :
| Ceremony | Year | Name | Film | Status | Notes |
| 59th | 1986 | Ismail Merchant | A Room with a View | Nominated | |
| 65th | 1992 | Ismail Merchant | Howards End | Nominated | |
| 66th | 1993 | Ismail Merchant | The Remains of the Day | Nominated | Nomination shared with John Calley and Mike Nichols |

## Best Sound

Academy Award for Best Sound :
| Ceremony | Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Notes |
| 79th | 2006 | Kami Asgar | | Apocalypto | Nominated | First – and only – Middle Eastern to be nominated for Best Sound |
| 81st | 2009 | Resul Pookutty | | Slumdog Millionaire | Won | First Indian to win Oscar in this category. |

## Best Visual Effects

Academy Award for Best Visual Effects :
| Ceremony | Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Notes |
| 69th | 1996 | Habib Zargarpour | | Twister | Nominated | Nomination shared with Stefan Fangmeier, John Frazier, and Henry LaBounta |
| 73rd | 2000 | Habib Zargarpour | | The Perfect Storm | Nominated | Nomination shared with Walt Conti, Stefan Fangmeier, and John Frazier |

## Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) :
| Ceremony | Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Notes |
| 8th | 1935 | Achmed Abdullah | | The Lives of a Bengal Lancer | Nominated | Adapted from the autobiography of the same name by Francis Yeats-Brown; First Muslim to be nominated for an Academy Award in any category; Nomination shared with John L. Balderston, Grover Jones, William Slavens McNutt, and Waldemar Young |
| 70th | 1997 | Hossein Amini | / | The Wings of the Dove | Nominated | Adapted from the novel of the same name by Henry James; First Asian to be nominated for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) |

## Best Writing (Original Screenplay)

Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay) :
| Ceremony | Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Notes |
| 84th | 2011 | Asghar Farhadi | | A Separation | Nominated | First screenplay written entirely in Persian to be nominated for an Academy Award in a writing category |
| 90th | 2017 | Kumail Nanjiani | / | The Big Sick | Nominated | Nomination shared with Emily V. Gordon (his wife) |