An eccentric man is fighting to keep his driving licence photo as a picture of him with a colander on his head because it is his 'religious right ' . Ian Harris , 51 , from Brighton , East Sussex , is a member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster whose followers , known as Pastafarians , regard the pasta strainer as a religious garment . He is challenging the DVLA over his rights to wear the metal bowl in his licence photo , which he says is equivalent to Muslim women being pictured in hijabs . Ian Harris is a member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster , whose followers believe the colander is a religious garment and he is fighting with the DVLA for his right to wear one in his driving licence photo . The father-of-one has already been turned down once by the government agency but has sent off a fresh photo wearing the headgear in a second bid . Mr Harris said : ' I 'm fighting for the right to have my religious headgear shown on my photo . I do n't understand the DVLA should be able to discriminate whether my religion is valid . ' I have a spiritual connection with the Flying Spaghetti Monster , until they have brain probes how are they going to say I do n't ? 'Our religion is a minority but the DVLA is discriminating because it allows people who practise major religions to wear headgear in pictures . ' The musician had his appeal rejected last month but hopes to emulate fellow believer Niko Alm from Austria , who won the legal right to wear the headgear in his licence photo in 2011 . Mr Alm sent off for the licence in 2008 and he was invited to the doctor 's to check he was mentally fit to drive , but after three years , his efforts finally paid off . Mr Harris began following the religion , along with his daughter Astri , 4 , after it was set up in the USA in 2005 to protest the teaching of creationism as an alternative to evolution in science classes . Members claim to believe that an invisible alien made of spaghetti and meatballs created the universe after 'drinking heavily . ' According to its tongue-in-cheek website their 'only dogma ... is the rejection of dogma ' . Rejection : Mr Harris has already been turned down once by the government agency but has sent off a fresh photo wearing the headgear and in a second bid . A DVLA spokesman said : 'The photograph must be clear and be a current likeness to allow the Police to link the driver to driving entitlement held without confusion or ambiguity . 'Headgear is generally not acceptable , but may be permissible on religious or medical grounds and any exemptions are dealt with on a case by case basis . ' Religious exemptions include the Sikh turban and the Islamic Hijab . Mr Harris , who plays banjo in The Iron Boot Scrapers , vows to fight his corner until he runs out of appeals when he will be forced to send a photo of him without the colander . He said : 'When I get to the final appeal I will have to send a photo without a colander but that would be a bad day for religious freedom . ' Other countries including the United States , Austria and the Czech Republic allow Pastafarians to wear the metal sieves in their licence pictures . The Austrian authorities allowed Niko Alm to wear the unusual headgear as it is deemed a suitable accessory for his 'Pastafarian ' religion . Shawna Hammon from Oklahoma was allowed to pose for her driver 's license wearing a spaghetti strainer on her head because it falls under the state 's rules for religious headwear . In September last year Shawna Hammond from Oklahoma , U.S. was granted permission to wear one in her licence photograph . She said the photo obeyed the state 's laws that requires people remove their glasses and wear a religious headpiece that does not cover their face , create shadows , or display text or logos . Earlier that year , Christopher Schaeffer , a council member in Pomfret , New York wore a colander on his head as he was sworn into office . In 2013 , a Czech man was allowed to wear the headgear on his official identity card after officials ruled that turning down his request would be a breach of the country 's religious equality laws . In 2005 , a physics graduate from Oregon State wrote a letter about a 'Flying Spaghetti Monster ' as a form of protest against the Kansas State Board of Education 's decision to allow the teaching of Intelligent Design as an alternative to evolution in public schools . By professing belief in a supernatural entity composed of pasta and meatballs , Bobby Henderson , 24 , called on 'Pastafarianism ' to be given equal time in science classrooms alongside Christian theory . Word rapidly spread and the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster ( CFSM ) now has thousands of followers , mainly on college campuses and in Europe . The central tenet of CFSM is that an invisible Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe 'after drinking heavily ' . Pastafarians celebrate every Friday as a holy day - and consider pirates 'absolute divine beings ' .
Ian Harris , 51 , is challenging DVLA over rights to wear colander in licence . He claims it is the equivalent of a Muslim woman wearing a hijab in photo . Score: 6