Austrian driver's religious headgear strains credulity

[Maine-ah]

An Austrian atheist has won the right to be shown on his driving-licence photo wearing a pasta strainer as "religious headgear".

Niko Alm first applied for the licence three years ago after reading that headgear was allowed in official pictures only for confessional reasons.

Mr Alm said the sieve was a requirement of his religion, pastafarianism.

The Austrian authorities required him to obtain a doctor's certificate that he was "psychologically fit" to drive.

The idea came into Mr Alm's noodle three years ago as a way of making a serious, if ironic, point.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14135523

[hifiguy]

1. rAmen!!

:rofl:

[LeftinOH]

2. He's making a good point. n/t

[hobbit709]

3. love it.

[Arugula Latte]

4. I am outraged! Everyone knows a religious hat should be very sensible, like this:

:rofl:

Seriously, though, kudos to the strainer guy. :thumbsup:

[rurallib]

6. this guy may look better in a strainer.

[Bake]

12. +10000 for the sensible pointy hat.

:hi:

Bake

[Bertha Venation]

5. Have you been touched by his noodly appendage?

:)

[jmowreader]

7. He must be a Reformed Pastafarian

As we all know, Orthodox Pastafarians eschew silly things like wearing spaghetti strainers on their heads; rather, they sprinkle parmesan cheese on the ground in front of them wherever they go.

[struggle4progress]

8. Nudelsieb doch nicht aus religiösen Gründen genehmigt

http://derstandard.at/1310511140592/Fuehrerschein-Nudelsieb-doch-nicht-aus-religioesen-Gruenden-genehmigt

Colander, but not approved for religious reasons
... there is no such religious exemption for driver's license pictures, reports religion.orf.at, citing Manfred Reinthaler, spokesman for the Vienna Police Department. "The photo was not approved for religious reasons. In license photographs, the only criterion is that the whole face must be recognizable" ... So Niko Alm's statement, that his colander had been accepted by the authority as a religious head covering, was false. The colander was only approved because no part of Alm's face was obscured ...

hattip: FranzlLang, commenting at Pharyngula

[struggle4progress]

9. Atheisten-Buskampagne gestoppt

http://derstandard.at/1244460160988/Atheisten-Buskampagne-gestoppt?sap=2&_pid=13167463

Atheist bus campaign halted
08th June 2009 14:51
Vienna Lines: "No advertising for political parties or religious sects on Vienna Lines vehicles" ...
The Vienna Lines atheist bus campaign has been halted ... "It is very unusual for a contractually agreed campaign stops during the term," said Niko Alm, managing director of the agency Super-Fi, which handles the campaign for Austrian atheist and humanist organizations free of charge ...

[struggle4progress]

10. Niko Alm (Public Relations / Austria)

Niko Alm (Public Relations / Austria)

Niko Alm is CEO of the Super-Fi Group (advertising, design, web, publishing, software). After a few years as a designer and music journalist he founded Super-Fi .. in 2001 ... At the moment he tries to separate state and religion in Austria ...

http://codedcultures.org/at/niko-alm/

[struggle4progress]

11. Interview zur Spaßreligion: „Das Nudelsieb ist doch nur ein Symbol

http://www.faz.net/artikel/C30602/interview-zur-spassreligion-das-nudelsieb-ist-doch-nur-ein-symbol-30462826.html

Interview about a fun religion
"The colander is just a symbol"
In Catholic Austria, a follower of the fun religion "Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster", Austrian Niko Alm, has obtained a driver's license with a photo showing a colander on his head ...
Now the office says they were unable to refuse, because the face is recognizable in the photo release. How did your encounter with the office begin?
At the end of 2008 ... The officer took my papers without a word. Shortly thereafter I got a call that my application was impossible with the photo. And I had an interview in early 2009 with a medical officer, who stated that I was "mentally capable" to drive a car. After a long delay, the license was issued. But I was not notified; I learned by chance that the license was already in the office. Information on the ID card shows that it was issued on 12 October 2009 ...