The Statue of Liberty was originally to be a Muslim Woman
- By Elisa Meyer --
- 03 Dec 2015 --
![By William Warby (originally posted to Flickr as Statue of Liberty) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons](http://www.worldreligionnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/1024px-Statue_of_Liberty_NY.jpg)
 [<a href=http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>CC BY 2.0</a>], <a href=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AStatue_of_Liberty%2C_NY.jpg>via Wikimedia Commons</a></figcaption></figure><h5>What is now the Statue of Liberty, was originally meant to guard over Egypt’s Suez Canal.</h5><p>Immigration was, and still is, a subject of much debate from the founding days of the United States. The Statue of Liberty is frequently invoked as a point to why we should accept people who seek opportunity and safety. In such a light, it is interesting to note that the iconic symbol, which welcomed many generations to the U.S., was actually <strong>designed to depict a</strong> Muslim woman.</p><p>Statue of Liberty was originally to be a Muslim Woman.[/tweetthis]</p><p>According to a <a href=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/statue-liberty-was-originally-muslim-woman-180957377/?no-ist>magazine published by the Smithsonian Institution</a>, she was actually <strong>supposed to guard over</strong> Egypt's Suez Canal and not New York Harbor. The reason it migrated to the U.S. was that <a href=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isma%27il_Pasha>Isma'il Pasha</a>, the then Egyptian ruler, <strong>dismissed the project</strong> for being expensive.</p><p><iframe width=600 height=400 frameborder=0 allowfullscreen data-src=https://www.youtube.com/embed/XkkYSZ0kL14 class=lazyload></iframe></p><p><a href=){kind=link}
Lady Liberty was a French gift to the United States as a part of a celebration of the alliance between the two nations. This friendship was forged at the time of French Revolution. The structure was the design of Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, of Eiffel tower fame.
Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, the designer of the statue, was also a French citizen. He, however, found inspiration from a locale very different from his native France: Egypt. He visited Abu Simbel in 1855 and was impressed by the Nubian monuments he found there. The tombs in Abu Simbel were guarded by colossal figures. Bartholdi became fascinated by such ancient architectures and soon developed, as National Park Service puts it, a passion for colossal structures. He soon pushed this passion to a proposal for inauguration of Suez Canal.
Smithsonian Institute says our Statue Of Liberty was originally intended to be a Muslim woman,that loud boom,Trump's head just exploded.
— G A on Rock 94 1/2 (@GARock945) December 3, 2015
#statueofliberty was inspired by a #muslim woman. What are you gonna do #murica, shoot her down??? pic.twitter.com/s20yMpRGby
— meryl streep (@white_crumb) December 3, 2015
The original proposal of Bartholdi involved an 86-foot tall robed and veiled woman sited on a 48-foot tall pedestal at the Suez Canal entrance. Egyptian leaders rejected the proposal for being too expensive. He subsequently went to the U.S. carrying his design. Bartholdi made a few modifications like transforming the Muslim woman to a statue personifying liberty. There was a functional difference as well: the new design did not offer navigational assistance to boats. Instead, it would illuminate the way for all immigrants entering the United States.
Bartholdi collaborated with Eiffel in designing the statue, now renamed as “Liberty Enlightening the World.” The U.S. covered the expenses for the pedestal, while France sponsored the construction of the statue and subsequent assembling in the U.S.
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