what do you think of my speech for a debate?? is it persuasive?

Question

Muslims should be able to wear whatever they want just like everyone else in this country. It's their right to wear a veil. Not only is it their right but it's also their duty to follow their religion as it has been preached to them. The veil is worn as a sign of respect and a traditional Muslim woman seen without a veil would be regarded as disrespecting her husband and society. Everyone has the right to wear whatever they please as long as it's not harming anyone else; and a veil harms nobody so why aren't they allowed to wear them? It's a free country and some people want to cover up as a visible symbol of their faith. If they believe that their hair and/or their faces should be seen only by their husbands, then that should be fine with everyone else unless it affects them in any way; which it doesn't for most.

Answer 1

It is persuasive. It is very good. The only thing you might consider adding is that some convenice stores (at least where I live) ask that you not go into the store with your face covered. You could add that this is the stores right and the Muslim woman can just not patronize these stores or banks in some case. You could consider adding that this country was built on religious freedom; this would make a strong argument.

Good luck on your debate.

Answer 2

If you are trying to make a speech, show the opposing view and then argue why this is wrong to prove your point. How long do you have for your speech?

Is it worth while pointing out that the Koran does not suggest that a woman covers her face, but some branches of Islam feel it is necessary. You imply that all female Muslims should wear the veil, something that is not correct as the majority just cover their heads and bodies - their faces are visible.

People are not allowed to wear what they want (because of the alleged threat of hoodies, my grandmother - in her 90s! - was not served in a coffee shop until she took off her hat!), and nudists do no harm to anyone - although I cannot understand the attraction of this, especially in wintertime!) but religious freedom is an important part of freedom. Also argue that Christians should be able to wear the cross, the sikhs the turban and so on. It should not be a one-sided issue.

People should not be allowed to choose which part of their religion they follow, however. They should follow everything, not cherrypick the things they apply. A long time ago (I am talking about 20 years ago), I was told by my boss, a Muslim man, that it was against the branch of Islam that he followed for a woman to work outside the home because she should not be seen by anybody outside the family, and that she should totally cover herself when she was going to be seen by other men, and that it was the man's job to work and support his family - including his sisters and daughters until they were married. That is why he employed 'Western' women, rather than Muslim ones.

(I presume this argument is about the teaching assistant. Here, the problem was not being able to see her face - you can talk to people on the telephone, after all! - but the fact that the voice is muffled and therefore much harder to understand what they are saying. Communication is rather important for a teacher, after all!)

Answer 3

I think it's clear and articulate and makes sense. The only issue against that is that is it a symbol of oppression? - indeed people do have the right to dress how they like, as long as it is neither harmful, nor offensive to others.

However, the argument's weakest point is on the question of harm, as if wearing a veil is a choice, then that's fine and completely acceptable, if it is in order to oppress or surpress, conciously or otherwise, does it become less acceptable.

I dont know the answer and nor am I claiming it is oppressive, but it is a question in the argument - why should a woman have to cover herself so as not to cause offense (to her religion or men or god).

Back to your question - yes, good speech, some clear points which are well made.

Answer 4

You have made some good points and I agree with you totally. My fiance is Muslim so the ways of their culture have been made very clear to me. However, it occurred to me a few days ago when i was at a local petrol station that it is slightly unfair that Muslim women can completely cover their identity in our country but we can't. If a person walks into a shop/garage/post office etc, wearing so much as a motorcycle helmet then we are asked to remove it for obvious safety reasons. So why do we pardon Muslims from this law? Maybe you could put something about the opposite side of thing into your argument. I know that you are doing this as a debate but maybe if you addressed the reasons for this your argument could be made stronger. You could address both sides of the argument and answer them both while making your argument clear.

Answer 5

It's okay for the most part. I would rephrase the question "So why aren't they allowed to wear them?" I don't know what country you are in, but in the U.S. they are allowed to wear them. The only exceptions being for photographs used for identification or, perhaps in a workplace where customer interaction is required. However, they are free to choose the places where they work and that all comes under employer/employee terms of agreements anyway and not under the rule of government.

Looking at the answer above, I would also suggest that you do some in-depth research into the topic so as to be prepared for the argument your opponent will be delivering.

Answer 6

well its not too bad. i was a provincial debater in quebec and i actually debated this very subject in the provincial tournament. a few points of constructive critisism: your speech has too many opinions, in a good argument there should be zero opinions, all facts. quote people, say according to cnn.com... or wtv. For example, your point that it is a free country and ppl are allowed to wear what they want should be supported by a quote from the charter of rights and freedoms (in debates, the charter of rights and freedoms is your best friend, as soon as you quote it, you sound very smart!) another point i would recommend is never ask a question in your argument. its bait for your opponent to answer it. if you ask "why aren't they allowed to wear them?" then the opposition can ramble on for ten minutes why they aren't, and if they have arguments to support them, they will always win the debate. i would also recommend finding articles on negative feedback from this from France, where a law was enforced that muslims could not wear veils at school. One last point that is very important is to define each of the terms in your debate question. For example if your debate is "Be it resolved that Muslims should be allowed to wear veils" define what is a veil, in accordance with you argument. You might want to define it as a garment of cultural and religious identity worn with pride by muslim women, 4 example. If your opponent doesn't dispute your definition, then you can claim some, if not all of their points are invalid because of the definition you stated at the beginning of the debate. Again, defining terms makes you sound very smart. I know this is alot of things to work on, but really its not a bad speech, in fact its a homerun, but if you take these points into consideration it will be a grand slam.

Good Luck, and I hope this helps!

Answer 7

I know someone who got rejected with the passport photo with the hats on, but Muslims women didn't. Maybe you should elaborate that too.

To me, wearing that is like wearing hats. If I say I wear hats in a public place and I won't be considered impolite. I think you should add some comparison as well. Or the debate will beat you with the hat thing!

Answer 8

Your argument is sound. Freedom to ware what you want as long as it is not offensive.
The only concerns I have heard about the burka (veil) is that they are not willing to remove it for photo ID.
They want a driver license and not show there face. It stands to reason that a photo ID would be no good if it didn't show there face. Simply put no face no license.
Other than that feel free to dress how ever you like.

Answer 9

Perhaps the most visible manifestation of a Muslim woman's faith, it goes by many names -- hijab, niqab, abaaya, burqa, chador. It can be anything from a simple scarf draped around the face and neck to a shawl, and, more rarely, a full cloak or shroud that covers the head and everything, in fact, but the eyes.

Today, the hijab -- or "the veil," as it's referred to in the Western media -- has taken on a multitude of meanings, perhaps more than it was ever meant to carry.

While some Muslims consider it an expression of modesty and piety, others say such emphasis on the scarf as a religious symbol is overstated. And while some Americans recoil from the sight of any form of Muslim dress as a symbol of terrorism and aggression toward non-Muslims, many feminists, mostly American but some Muslim, invest the hijab with another kind of significance -- oppression of Muslim women.

That last assumption has been fed by television images of women in Afghanistan, shrouded in the burqa, being beaten for showing an ankle or part of their face. And while Muslim men also are required to dress modestly -- with a turban or a cap, and flowing garments -- women's dress is seen as symbol of the greater restrictions they labor under in some Muslim countries.

It is estimated that about 10 percent of the female Muslim population nationally wears the hijab, although those numbers may be growing as more people convert to Islam. It's not clear how many women do so among the 10,000 Muslims living in the Pittsburgh region. But nearly all of those interviewed stressed that wearing the veil was a personal decision, a far cry from the coercion experienced by women in Afghanistan.

In fact, the Quran, the Muslim holy book, doesn't require that Muslim women cover their heads, although it asks both men and women to "lower their gaze and guard their modesty."

"The idea behind that was that the sexuality of one didn't influence the other, so that men and women would treat each other like equal human beings," said Zieba Shorish-Shamley, an anthropologist and Muslim feminist who heads the Washington, D.C.-based Women's Alliance for Peace and Human Rights in Afghanistan.

Because the Quran's injunctions are open to many interpretations, Islamic laws in different countries vary widely in what they define as modest dress -- from the extremes of Afghanistan to the sartorial freedoms of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and even Iraq.

Even in countries where the hijab is not required, today more younger Muslim women are covering their heads.

Indeed, many Muslim women consider the head scarf a form of feminist expression, because it forces people to judge them by their character rather than their looks.

In its purest form, scholars stress, Islam is the most progressive of all religions when it comes to women's rights. The Quran permits them to own their own businesses, to inherit wealth, choose marriage partners or divorce them, although those freedoms have been severely curtailed in some countries, depending on local customs and traditions.

The burqa is not a religious invention, but rather one with roots in the pre-Islamic cultures of Persia and India. In fact, scholars note that middle-class Muslim women in the seventh century began covering their heads because it was the tradition of the Christian Byzantines, who wanted to distinguish themselves from the masses.

Answer 10

this is not a speech, they are randomly selected ideas gathered in one paragraph. Contact me if you need a standard format for persuasive speech, then you can tailor your draft to create a well-organized outline, and work from there.