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Colander-wearing Pastafarian strains the rules with Queensland driver’s licence photo
#Pastafarian#Driver's License#Religious Freedom#Queensland#Colander#Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster#Freedom of Expression
📌 Key Takeaways
Syaban Shadikillah was issued a Queensland driver's license with a photo showing him wearing a colander on his head.
The Queensland government is now demanding he get a new license, claiming the original was issued 'in error.'
Shadikillah, a convert to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, considers this a violation of his religious freedom and freedom of expression.
Similar cases of Pastafarians seeking to wear colanders on license photos have occurred in other countries.
📖 Full Retelling
Syaban Shadikillah, a 28-year-old Pastafarian living in rural Queensland, Australia, was issued a driver's license in February featuring a photo of him wearing a colander on his head, but now state officials are demanding he obtain a new license after the image was deemed non-compliant with regulations. Shadikillah, who converted to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster in 2021 while studying in his native Indonesia, insists his right to wear religious headgear—the colander—was violated when government officials contacted him after his Facebook post about the license went viral. The Queensland government's website states that headgear is only permitted for license photos if worn for religious purposes, and authorities have ruled that Pastafarianism does not qualify as a religion for driver's license purposes. Shadikillah, who moved to Australia in late 2024 citing greater freedom of expression than Indonesia, where he claims he faces arrest for blasphemy against Islam, vows to fight to keep his current license. The incident adds to a growing history of Pastafarians challenging government ID regulations, with similar cases occurring in Austria in 2011 and Melbourne in 2015. While the movement, which began as a satirical protest against teaching intelligent design in schools, maintains that the colander is their 'chosen outfit' equivalent to religious garments like hijabs or turbans, governments have consistently rejected these claims. A Queensland government spokesperson attributed the issuance of Shadikillah's license to 'human error' and stated that a new compliant photo would be required before a replacement license could be issued.
🏷️ Themes
Religious Freedom, Government Regulations, Freedom of Expression
The Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) is the deity of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, or Pastafarianism, a parodic new religious movement that promotes a light-hearted view of religion. The parody originated in opposition to the teaching of intelligent design in public schools in the United...
Bowl-shaped kitchen utensil with holes in it used for draining food
A colander or cullender is a kitchen utensil perforated with holes used to strain foods such as pasta or to rinse vegetables. The perforations of the colander allow liquid to drain through while retaining the solids inside. It is sometimes called a pasta strainer.
Human right to practice, or not, a religion without conflict from governing powers
Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the right not to...
Queensland (locally KWEENZ-land, commonly abbreviated as QLD) is a state in northeastern Australia, the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south, respectively. To the e...
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Original Source
Colander-wearing Pastafarian strains the rules with Queensland driver’s licence photo Syaban Shadikillah told to get new driver’s licence after being issued one using photo of him with colander on his head Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A “Pastafarian” in rural Queensland has vowed to fight to keep his driver’s licence featuring a photo of him wearing a colander on his head, arguing it’s a matter of freedom of religion. But the state government has told him he must hand it in and get a new one, as it was issued “in error”. Syaban Shadikillah, who has been living and working in Mareeba in the state’s far north after moving to Australia in late 2024, insists his licence is valid and says he does not want to retake the photo. He said it was a matter of principle and freedom of expression, and that it was a violation of his right to wear religious headgear: the colander. Sign up: AU Breaking News email Shadikillah, 28, said he converted from Islam to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster in 2021 while a university student in his home country of Indonesia due to his growing doubts about the religion in which he’d been raised. Also known as Pastafarianism, the new religious movement began with an open letter US physics graduate Bobby Henderson wrote in 2005 to protest against the teaching of intelligent design, a form of creationism, in Kansas schools. He argued that the same logic behind intelligent design equally applied to a universe created by a flying spaghetti monster with noodly appendages. In the letter, Henderson maintained that the “chosen outfit” of the faith was “full pirate regalia”. This was later modified to include colanders. Pastafarians maintain it is an expression of their religion in a similar manner to a hijab or Sikh turban. Shadikillah is the latest in a string of Pastafarians to apply for government-issued ID featuring colander headgear. In 2011, an Austrian man wore a pasta strainer on his head for his driver’s l...
