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Statue of Liberty Inspired by Arab Woman

            Over the years we have heard the story of how the Statue of Liberty came to be.  How the French gave the statue to the United States as a sign of friendship.  She stands in the New York harbor representing the freedom immigrants seek as they entered the city of New York and the dream to become Americans.  She stands for freedom, hope, dreams, and the right to have all of those things.

            However, there is a new story on the horizon that tells a different story as to how the inspiration of the giant statue came to be.  Historians are claiming an Arab Woman inspired the sculpture.   In 1869 the idea of building a lighthouse for the Suez Canal was being developed, designer, Bartholdi showed off sketches of a giant woman in a robe holding a torch and he called her Egypt, which means Brings Light to Asia.  More drawings were developed and a giant Fellah, or Arab peasant was the inspiration for the lighthouse and was used to create the Statue of Liberty by the same sculptor for the French to give to the United States.

Analysis: 

The author of this article is trying to bring to light the idea that Bartholdi created this enormous statue as an after thought for the statue he was creating for the Suez Canal lighthouse.  He tries to portray the idea that Bartholdi stole the creation of the lighthouse statue and made it the same as the Statue of Liberty.  His idea was developed in Egypt and that she was never the sole idea for the United States.

I have recently visited New York and I had the amazing opportunity to visit the Statue of Liberty.  She stands tall in the New York harbor as a beacon for all to see.  She has brought with her the legend of the help she gave the boats that traveled from all over the world bringing immigrants to the United States for the chance at a free life and a life filled with opportunities. She has stood in the harbor for hundreds of years and she still stands there today.  She has welcomed many immigrants into the United States.  She shines as bright today as she did all those hundreds of years ago when she arrived from France.  I still believe that France gave her to the U S for the sake of friendship and to establish the bond of being allies with each other.

Article Link: 

 http://news.discovery.com/history/us-history/statue-of-liberty-inspired-by-arab-woman-151202.htm