Paris: On the day that Charlie Hebdo published its first edition after the terror attack on its Paris office, French President Francois Hollande said on Wednesday that the satirical weekly was 'alive and will live on'.
The 'survivors' edition, as it is being called, had Prophet Muhammad on cover with a tear in his eye and holding 'Je suis Charlie', which means 'I am Charlie', under the words - 'All is forgiven'.
The sign was used by people across the world in solidarity with the weekly.
The attack on the weekly's office on January 07 killed 12 people including its editor, Stéphane Charbonnier, also known as Charb, and other top cartoonists.
"You can murder men and women but you can never kill their ideas," Hollande said, as per AFP.
The weekly was put together by survivors of last week's shooting who have been since Friday working out of the offices of another French newspaper, Liberation, with equipment loaned by other media organisations.
Cartoonist Renald 'Luz' Luzier said he cried after drawing the front cover.
"Our Muhammed is above all just a guy who is crying. He is much nicer than the one (worshipped) by the gunmen," he was quoted as saying.
The gunmen, brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi, who carried out the attack, were later killed by the French authorities after a massive hunt.
They were killed on Friday, as was an accomplice, Amedy Coulibaly, in separate but coordinated French commando raids on sites in and near Paris where they had taken hostages.
In all 17 people and the three Islamist attackers were killed in three days of violence.
Meanwhile, al Qaeda today posted a video claiming last week`s deadly attack on its cartoonists.
The responsibility was claimed by al Qaeda`s Yemen branch (AQAP).
“AQAP was the party that chose the target and plotted and financed the plan. It was following orders by our general chief Ayman al-Zawahiri," said one of its leaders in the video, adding it was "vengeance" for the weekly`s cartoons of the prophet, as per AFP.
Brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi who carried out the attack are known to have trained with the group.
Amedy Coulibaly, who killed a policewoman and attacked a Jewish supermarket in Paris in attacks he said were coordinated with the Kouachi brothers, has claimed links to the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.
Meanwhile, under government orders to crackdown on hate crimes, French prosecutors have opened over 50 cases for condoning terrorism or making threats to carry out terrorist acts since the attacks that claimed 17 lives.
They include one against the controversial comedian Dieudonne Mbala Mbala.
He was arrested on Wednesday and will stand trial at a later date over a comment suggesting he sympathised with one of the Paris attackers, as France cracks down on those who condone terrorism.
The comedian wrote "I feel like Charlie Coulibaly" on Facebook - mixing the popular "Je Suis Charlie" homage to the slain journalists with a reference to the supermarket gunman.
On the other hand, some global Muslim leaders have criticised the new cartoon, with the Qatar-based International Union of Muslim Scholars saying "it is neither reasonable, nor logical, nor wise to publish drawings and films... attacking the prophet of Islam."
The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Mohammed Hussein said the cover was an insult that "has hurt the feelings of nearly two billion Muslims all over the world".
But many have taken a nuanced stance and tried to calm tensions, with French Muslim leaders urging their communities - which have already been targeted - to "stay calm and avoid emotive reactions".
With AFP inputs
