Iranian Filmmaker's Oscar Acceptance Draws Furious Condemnation from the Right

Iranian film director Asghar Farhadi's The Salesman won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film last night––and his acceptance speech drew furious condemnation from conservatives who watched the ceremony.

Farhadi had chosen not to attend the ceremony in protest against Donald Trump's executive order banning travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran. Farhadi opted to stay in Iran even after a district court blocked Trump's order. Anousheh Ansari, an Iranian American engineer and scientist who became the first Iranian to go to space, accepted the award on Farhadi's behalf.

The full text of Farhadi's speech is below:

The speech received an almost immediate backlash from the right after it concluded. Critics accused the Iranian filmmaker of using his platform to "lecture" the nation about human rights and democratic ideals, especially given his own country's record of human rights violations.

But Farhadi's defenders were similarly impassioned.

Farhadi's speech also received applause from Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister:

This isn't the first time Farhadi made a political statement at the Oscars. In 2012, he won the award for Best Foreign Language Film for A Separation and dedicated his prize to the Iranian people. "I proudly offer this award to the people of my country, the people who respect all cultures and civilizations, and despise hostility and resentment," Farhadi said at the time.

Farhadi was not the only Muslim in the spotlight last night. Mahershala Ali, who won the Best Supporting Actor statuette for his performance in Best Picture winner Moonlight, became the first Muslim actor to win an Academy Award. The actor previously detailed his conversion to Islam in a speech at last month's Screen Actor's Guild Awards. “My mother is an ordained minister,” Ali said at the time. “I’m a Muslim. She didn’t do back flips when I called to tell her that I converted 17 years ago. But I tell you now, we put things to the side, and I’m able to see her and she’s able to see me, we love each other, the love has grown. And that stuff is minutia — it’s not that important.”