An Austrian man who belongs to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster has won the right to wear a pasta strainer as “religious headgear” in his driver’s license photo.
Niko Alm, who says he is a “pastafarian,” first applied for the license three years ago, arguing that the colander on his head was a requirement of his religion, “pastafarianism,” reports the BBC.
Alm's new license shows him wearing a pasta strainer upside down on his head like a hat.
"The photo was not approved on religious grounds. The only criterion for photos in driving license applications is that the whole face must be visible," a Vienna police spokesman told the BBC.
The Austrian authorities had reportedly also required Alm to obtain a doctor's certificate to prove he was mentally fit to drive, after having received his license application and photo.
Alm, a self-confessed atheist, says he belongs to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, a satirical U.S.-based faith whose members call themselves pastafarians.
The group's website states that "the only dogma allowed in the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is the rejection of dogma.”
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