Riz Ahmed

Islam is a monotheistic Abrahamic religion. Muslims, the people who practice it, consider their holy book Quran as the verbatim word of Allāh as revealed to the Islamic prophet and messenger Muhammad.

The countries with significant Muslim populations are Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, China and Algeria. In the United States, Islam is the third largest religion following Christianity and Judaism.

Many celebrities follow or practice Islam. Here are the 13 most handsome Muslim actors who appeared in at least one Hollywood film or TV series in 2020 or is set to appear in an upcoming one:

#13 | Rizwan Manji

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on October 17, 1974, Manji is the son of an Ismaili Muslim couple of Gujarati Indian descent who immigrated from Tanzania to Canada. He starred in the TV series “Schitt’s Creek” and “Sydney to the Max” from 2015 to 2020 and from 2019 to 2020, respectively, played Amman Khoja in the 2020 short film “Midnight Curry” and is set to appear in the upcoming films “One Hit Wonder,” “College” and “Eat Wheaties!”

#12 | Shaquille O’Neal

Born to Joe Toney and Lucille O’Neal in Newark, New Jersey, United States on March 6, 1972, Shaquille was raised by his Baptist mother and Muslim stepfather Phillip A. Harrison, who is of Jamaican descent. Shaquille appeared in the 2020 TV series “Shaq Life” and is set to appear in the upcoming film “Hubie Halloween” and in the upcoming TV series “Shaq Talk.”

#11 | Mike Tyson

Born in Cumberland Hospital in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, United States on June 30, 1966, Tyson was told by his mother Lorna Mae Smith Tyson that his biological father was Jimmy Kirkpatrick although the one listed in his birth certificate was Purcell Tyson, who is from Jamaica. Mike appeared in the TV series “Mike Tyson Mysteries” and “The Last O.G.” and in the film “Reality Queen!” in 2020 and is set to appear in the upcoming films “The Devil May Care” and “Soul Business.”

#10 | Usman Ally

Born in Swaziland to Pakistani parents on August 27, 1982, Ally grew up in Kenya, Botswana, Tanzania and Pakistan before moving to the United States when he was 18 years old. He played Victor Mir and Captain Hazara in the TV series “NCIS” and “68 Whiskey,” respectively, and Crisis Mike in “The Hunt” in 2020 and is set to play Sergei in the upcoming film “Superintelligence.”

#9 | Aziz Ansari

Born in Columbia, South Carolina, United States on February 23, 1983 to a Tamil Muslim family from Tamil Nadu, India, Ansari grew up in Bennettsville, South Carolina. He played Tom Haverford in “Parks and Recreation” from 2009 to 2020.

#8 | Alexander Siddig

Siddig was born Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abdurrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdul Karim El Mahdi in Omdurman, Sudan on November 21, 1965 to a Sudanese father and a British mother. He played Adi in the film “21 Bridges” and Suidani and Issouf Al Moctar in the TV series “The Spy” and “Deep State,” respectively, in 2019 and is set to star in the upcoming film “Skylin3s” as General Radford.

#7 | Ice Cube

Born O’Shea Jackson on June 15, 1969 in Los Angeles, California, United States to Hosea Jackson and Doris Jackson, Cube adopted Islam in the mid-1990s. Cube appeared in the TV series “Untold Stories of Hip Hop” in 2019 and is set to appear in the upcoming films “The High Note,” “Last Friday,” “Flint Strong,” “Accidentes,” “Ride Along 3” and “Humbug.”

#6 | Omar Sy

Sy was born in Trappes, Île-de-France, France on January 20, 1978 to a Senegalese father of Fulani descent and a Mauritanian mother, who are both immigrants from West Africa. He played Perrault, Aristide and Marwan in the 2020 films “The Call of the Wild,” “Night Shift” and “Refugee,” respectively, and is set to appear in the upcoming TV series “Arsene Lupin” and play Barry Sembene in the upcoming film “Jurassic World: Dominion.”

#5 | Mahershala Ali

Born Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore to Phillip Gilmore and Willicia Goines in Hayward, California, United States on February 16, 1974, Ali was raised Christian but he converted to Islam in 2000. He won Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for “Moonlight” in 2017 and “Green Book” in 2019, played Sheikh in the TV series “Ramy” in 2020 and is set to appear in the upcoming films “Sovereign” and “Blade” and play Titan in the upcoming TV series “Invincible.”

#4 | Faran Tahir

Tahir was born to Pakistani parents Nareem Tahir and Yasmeen Tahir in Los Angeles, California, United States on February 16, 1964. Faran played Asad in the 2020 film “I am Fear” and is set to star in the upcoming films “Super Athlete,” “I’ll Meet You There,” “The Window” and “The Martial Artist,” voice Baha Walad in the upcoming animated film “Lamya’s Poem” and play Kasain in the upcoming TV series “Space Command.”

#3 | Aasif Mandvi

Born in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India to a Dawoodi Bohra Muslim family on March 5, 1966, he was 1 year old when he and his family moved to Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. He played Ben Shakir and Sahil in the TV series “Evil” and “Mira, Royal Detective,” respectively, in 2020 and is set to voice Ichiro in the upcoming animated film “Blazing Samurai.”

#2 | Saïd Taghmaoui

Taghmaoui was born in Villepinte, Seine-Saint-Denis, France on July 19, 1973 to parents were Moroccan immigrants of Berber ancestry from Essaouira, Marrakesh-Safi, Morocco. He played The Elder in “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum” and is set to star in the upcoming TV series “Professionals” and upcoming films “Embattled” and “The Forgiven.”

#1 | Riz Ahmed

Ahmed was born in Wembley, London, England on December 1, 1982 to a British Pakistani family. He appeared in the TV series “The OA,” voiced Takai in the English version of “Weathering with You” and played Ruben in the film “Sound of Metal” and played Zed and Riz in the films “Mogul Mowgli” and “The Long Goodbye” in 2019, respectively, and is set to appear in the upcoming films “Hamlet” and “Exit West.”