Studying Arabic and Islam | Frank Gardner | Oxford Union

Frank Gardner tells the union of his experience at University and what inspired him to study Arabic and Islam.
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Filmed on Monday 29th April 2013

ABOUT FRANK GARDNER:
Inspired to travel to remote places from an early age after a chance meeting with the veteran Arabian explorer Sir Wilfred Thesiger, Gardner developed a fascination for the Arab world and was determined to read Arabic at university.

After living with an Egyptian family in the backstreets of Cairo, he graduated from Exeter University with a degree in Arabic & Islamic Studies. He then became an investment banker before taking the plunge into journalism, working initially for BBC World TV. Spotting a gap in coverage he moved himself and his heavily pregnant wife to Dubai in 1997 to set up as a freelance Gulf stringer covering all 6 GCC countries and Yemen.

In 1999 Gardner was appointed BBC Middle East correspondent in charge of the bureau in Cairo, but travelled throughout the region. After the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York, Gardner focused on stories related to the so-called 'War on Terror', a phrase he always disliked, working to steer his audiences away from many of the prejudices and stereotypings that sprang up in the wake of those attacks.

On 6 June 2004, while reporting from a suburb of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Gardner was shot six times and seriously injured in an attack by al-Qaeda sympathisers. His colleague Irish cameraman Simon Cumbers was shot dead. He was left partly paralysed in the legs and dependent on a wheelchair for life.
After 14 operations, 7 months in hospital and months of rehabilitation he returned to reporting for the BBC in mid-2005, using a wheelchair or a frame.

He recently revisited Saudi Arabia to film a new documentary, recently screened by the BBC. He will be signing copies of his books after the talk.

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