Oscar winner Mahershala Ali plays a holy man trapped in a murderously unholy profession in “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother,” a satire on “faith” in America wrapped in an all-too-conventional hit man thriller.

As Latif, Ali is a suddenly-single dad trying to raise his three kids in his Muslim faith and get away from his side business, as a murderous “crusader” who murders for hire. He kills with his trusty saif, but only those who “threaten” his community, as ordained by his Arab-American boss (Laith Nakli). Or so they say.

Latif’s Imam (Giancarlo Esposito) knows and violently opposes this, but not enough to expel Latif and his family from their suburban Houston mosque. Forgiving a murderer his heinous sins because he’s just lost his wife seems a stretch.

But writer-director Bassam Tariq (“Mogul Mowgli” was his) has a lot of religious and American cultural commentary and judgements tucked into this violent tale a righteous but amoral man struggling to cling to the last threads of his humanity.

Latif struggles with grief over the sickly wife who died while he was out of town “on a job.” His teen daughter (Adia) is in open rebellion, hanging with the young Mormon missionaries in their apartment complex and watching furry porn (if you don’t know, don’t ask) on the sly.

Fatiha is openly questioning the family’s faith. Little brother Qadir (Jaheel Kamara) is ten, still finding himself and starting to stray in ways boys with absentee fathers do, starting with his colorful language and his pre-sexual fixations.

The film’s title, “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother” comes from a Hadith by the Prophet Muhammed, whose answer to a question about “Who is most deserving” of someone’s best wishes and efforts. That frames the movie as a fable, a father with combat training and faith overwhelmed by the huge shoes his children’s mother left behind.

Latif’s mosque is a place of serious faith. One reason the Imam despises “Mike” (Nakli) the Arab-American underworld figure who assigns Latif people to murder, is that he’s not a true man of faith. The congregation of mostly-converts takes the precepts of Islam a lot more seriously Mike and his amoral Arabic crew.

Mike and his godless young nephew Hatty (Abubakr Ali) have run afoul of the New “Law” in Town, the assault-rifle Christian fundamentalist Pastor Hwan, a metal-toothed combat vet and fanatic who inspires his followers to “cleanse” unholy places like strip clubs and unholy people like the pornographer Hatty.

Pastor Hwan is played with a “Scarface” fury by John Cho, who reinvents himself in this crazed, cracked performance. Pastor Hwan has threatened Hatty. That causes Mike to put out a hit on the machine gun preacher.

But all Latif wants is breast milk to feed his infant daughter and to avoid any more bloodying of his blade or “hits” assigned by the unworthy Mike.

Tariq’s screenplay blends the sacred with the profane, with large doses of simply explaining Islamic practices (burial, mourning, praying, etc) and terms (“Jihad” is bluntly defined in ways few Westerners have ever heard) and a sprinkling of dark, sometimes even kinky humor.

A stripper (Tiffany Boone) might be the easiest source of breast milk, especially for a man of faith who “steers clear of Uncle Sam” and state-sponsored public aid. Latif’s mosque is his support system, no matter what. The Mormons (John Henry Ward plays the “elder” Fatiha has a crush on) are the most reasonable and tolerant religious folk depicted.

But the extremists see commonalities in their faiths even if “respect” is easier to give than tolerance.

The story take turns that require bigger and bigger suspensions of disbelief as the third act slaughter begins in this world where Texas law enforcement is never so much as glimpsed. “Forgiveness” and “acceptance” know no bounds, and the finale’s literal leap of faith is an eye-roller.

Tariq must have studied hit man movies and not literal hired-killer case files, and even in that he paints himself into a cinematic corner he can’t reason his plot out of.

But the dazzling scenery-chewing Cho isn’t the only actor appearing “as you’ve never seen him before.” Ali adds another incarnation to an already impressive resume. The great character actor Esposito adds gravitas and credibility to the proceedings.

And making her feature film debut, the wide-eyed Adia, of Netflix’s “The Midnight Club” TV series, is startling in how real she makes this mourning, rebelling, responsible and yet naive and figuring it all out teen.

“Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother” is an edgy and thoughtful action film winding down its theatrical run. But don’t be surprised if this violent thriller with satiric religious and cultural commentary returns as awards season starts weeding out the winners from the losers. This cast is too good to miss.

Rating: R, graphic violence, nudity, profanity

Cast: Mahershala Ali, Adia, Abubakr Ali, Laith Nakli, Abubakr Ali, Tiffany Boone, John Henry Ward, Giancarlo Esposito and John Cho.

Credits: Scripted and directed by Bassam Tariq. An Orion/MGM/Amazon release.

Running time: 1:52