Emotional Charlie Hebdo cartoonist defends latest magazine cover

A Charlie Hebdo cartoonist broke down as he defended the cover cartoon depicting a weeping Prophet Mohammed in the latest edition since the attack on the Paris offices of the satirical magazine.

The cover image on the Wednesday edition shows a weeping prophet holding a placard that reads "Je suis Charlie" with "All is forgiven" written above the figure.

Renald 'Luz' Luzier wept as he told reporters that terrorists have lost perspective, admitting he cried after drawing the cover, News.com.au reported.

Luzier, who escaped the massacre because he was late to work by half an hour, said that the terrorists had lost their sense of humour and the child within them that allowed them to look at the world with a certain distance.

The cartoonist apologized for drawing the Prophet yet again, but defended the caricature saying that the Mohammad drawn in the latest edition was "just a little guy who's crying."

The magazine is set to publish a record three million copies of the new issue, surpassing the usual 60,000 copies. The money from sales will reportedly go to the victims' families.

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Meanwhile, French Muslim groups have urged the followers of Islam to maintain calm and respect for freedom of opinion ahead of Charlie Hebdo's Wednesday release.

The French Council of the Muslim Religion and the Union of French Islamic Organisations released a joint statement calling for the Muslim community to "stay calm and avoid emotive reactions that are incompatible with its dignity ... while respecting freedom of opinion," the report added.