Because The Stoning of Soraya M. is a Western film looking at a situation that involves Islam, it should be expected that some will claim that the film is an attack on Islam. At a recent press day, Director/co-writer Cyrus Nowrasteh and actors Shohreh Aghdashloo (who plays Zahra) and Mozhan Marnò were each asked if they thought the film was anti-Muslim. It should be noted that all three are of Iranian ancestry; Ms. Aghdashloo was born in Iran and lived there until the Iranian Revolution. All three state clearly that they do not see the film as anti-Muslim.

Mozhan Marnò: I don't personally think this film is an indictment of Islam. I think the quote at the beginning of the movie says it all. And the fact that the mullah in the film is not actually a mullah. He's an ex-convict; that's a central plot point of the film. At the beginning of the film the quote is about people who pervert the words of religion to suit their own needs. I think that this is what the film is about. I know personally that no one in this film is anti-Iran, anti-Islam. I myself can say that I'm grossly intolerant of intolerance. I'm a non-believer, but I believe that everybody should have the right to pursue any kind of faith. We're not making a statement about any particular faith.

Cyrus Nowrasteh: I've been contacted by a lot of Muslims who actually think it's a pro-Muslim movie. There's a quote at the beginning of the film that kind of says it all. The mullah in the movie is an ex-convict. He's an imposter. So he's not speaking for genuine Islam. And the husband knows it. They just took advantage of the situation to further their own personal agendas. So some people are going to react to it the way that they do. I can't control that. But I do think that we made a very clear distinction in the movie, because (by the way it's in the book) that the mullah was not a real mullah; he's an imposter.

Shohreh Aghdashloo: In Islam we have the Quran, that's our holy book. We have Hadith, that are stories that are told after Mohammed's time. And there is Sunnah, traditions and superstitions. Stoning is in that category. It's not even mentioned in the Quran. I don't think there is any way we can take this as something against a certain religion, because it is still in that category—the category of traditions and superstitions. But those who would like to manipulate the divine law, of course, would tell those who have not read their own holy book that this is a part of our religion. But not really, it is not.