How I embrace contradiction as a queer Muslim drag queen | Amrou Al-Kadhi | TEDxLondon

We exist in a world where we have multiple and sometimes contradictory identities within ourselves. How do you navigate who you are, when who you are is sometimes at odds with itself? For a long time, Amrou Al-Kadhi struggled to negotiate the intersections between their queer and Islamic heritage. These identities felt completely polarised, as if Amrou's identity was founded on a tectonic fault at constant risk of rupture. Yet, it was the unlikely world of quantum physics that allowed Amrou to find the magic of contradictions, and to revel in their intersectional identity. Amrou Al-Kadhi is a performer, writer and filmmaker. Their memoir on having an intersectional identity, Unicorn: The Memoir of a Muslim Drag Queen, will be released in early October 2019. As of 2019, Amrou has several TV shows in development (one for BBC Drama and one for Channel 4 Comedy). During 2019, Amrou has also written an episode for Kumail Nanjiani & Emily V. Gordon’s upcoming series for Apple (US), Little America, and BBC America’s hotly anticipated series, The Watch, based on the Discworld novels of Sir Terry Pratchett. Amrou has written and directed four short films and has features in development with Film4, the BFI and BBC films. Their journalism has appeared in the Guardian, the Independent, Gay Times, Attitude, CNN and Little White Lies, among other publications. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx