The chief editor of Charlie Hebdo defended the magazine's controversial depictions of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad, saying that cartoon parodies of religious figures safeguard freedom of religion, NBC News reported. In an interview with NBC's Chuck Todd, Gérard Biard said through a translator that the cartoons ensure freedom of religion because they "declare that God must not be a political or public figure, but instead must be a private one." It was Biard's first interview with an American television network since his magazine was attacked by Islamist extremists. The interview will air in full on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday.
