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Glenn Beck: Statue of Liberty 'Not Even Close' to Being a Muslim Woman
A view of the the Statue of Liberty, as Liberty Island opens to the public on July 4, 2013 for the first time since Superstorm Sandy slammed into the New York area. The Statue of Liberty, one of America's most recognizable symbols, reopens just in time for the July 4 national holiday, after being repaired from damage inflicted last year by Hurricane Sandy. (AFP/Getty Images)

Glenn Beck: Statue of Liberty 'Not Even Close' to Being a Muslim Woman

"A different statue? Yes."

Glenn Beck voiced opposition Tuesday to the Smithsonian's recent claim that the Statue of Liberty depicts a Muslim woman.

"Is the Statue of Liberty a Muslim woman? No, she's not a Muslim woman," Beck said on The Glenn Beck Radio Program. "Did it start with an Egyptian woman — a different statue? Yes."

A view of the the  Statue of Liberty, as Liberty Island opens to the public on July 4, 2013 for the first time since Superstorm Sandy slammed into the New York area. The Statue of Liberty, one of America's most recognizable symbols, reopens just in time for the July 4 national holiday, after being repaired from damage inflicted last year by Hurricane Sandy. (AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images

The Smithsonian's claim arose from statue designer Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi's initial design. Originally, after visiting Egypt in 1855, Bartholdi sought to create a statue of an Egyptian woman — who has been assumed Muslim — for the African country.

The monument, tentatively named "Egypt Bringing Light to Asia," was planned to be an 86-foot tall veiled and robed statue of a woman perched at the entrance of the Suez Canal, according to Smithsonian magazine.

However, when Bartholdi was unsuccessful in pitching the sale to Egyptian leaders, who thought it was too expensive, he turned to the United States. Ultimately, Bartholdi scrapped his original idea in favor of designing a similar statue of a woman personifying liberty.

Bartholdi worked with structural designer Alexandre-Gustav Eiffel on the new endeavor, which they named "Liberty Enlightening the World." The Statue of Liberty, as it is known today, was intended to be a beacon for immigrants in search of the United States.

The iconic statue was gifted by France to the United States and officially unveiled Oct. 28, 1886, by then-President Grover Cleveland.

"The chain on her feet wouldn't be broken [if she was a Muslim woman]," Beck said. "[H]ere's the way the story should be: The guy who made the Statue of Liberty also had another plan for another statue."

Ultimately, though, Beck said there would be "no interest in that," so Lady Liberty had to be a Muslim — a claim the radio host says just isn't true.

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Follow Tré Goins-Phillips (@tregp) on Twitter

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