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Azerbaijan presents Iranian poet Nizami Ganjavi as Azerbaijani, Abdolmajid Sharifzadeh, head of the Department of Traditional Arts of the Iranian Academy of Arts, told Iran’s state-run news agency IRNA in an interview. 

The Iranian scientist said, in part, “After the collapse of the USSR, some countries try to enrich their history and culture by distorting the Iranian culture. For instance, Azerbaijan, citing the city of Ganja (Gandzak), currently located in the territory of Azerbaijan, presents Iranian poet Nizami Ganjavi as Azerbaijani. However, the historical facts show that Nizami was born in the Iranian city of Rey.”

“Another Iranian poet, Moulavi, was born in the city of Balkh (Afghanistan) and was buried in Turkey, and these countries try to present his identity in a distorted way,” Sharifzadeh added.

“We found out recently that an Azerbaijani writer published an article in a South Korean newspaper where Iranian poet Nizami Ganjavi is presented as Azerbaijani. Iran’s Ferdowsi Foundation told the newspaper that it should not publish wrong information and should present the facts correctly,” said the Iranian scientist.

Related: Iranian website: Azerbaijan to present fake Nizami Ganjavi to China