Alm's initiative has since been replicated in several (mostly Western) countries around the world, with mixed successes. Many national or subnational authorities (such as U.S. states) granted driver's licences, identity cards or passports featuring photos of citizens wearing a colander, while other authorities rejected applications on grounds that either Pastafarianism was 'not a (real) religion' and reflected satire rather than sincerity or seriousness, or that wearing a colander could not be demonstrated to be a religious obligation as other head-covering items were claimed to be in other religions, such as the hijab in Islam and the kippah/yarmulke in Judaism. Applicants and their attorneys retorted by arguing – also with mixed successes – that Pastafarianism did constitute a real religion, or that it was neither up to the government to decide what qualifies as a religion, nor whether certain religious beliefs are valid or invalid, nor whether certain practices within religions had the status of obligation, established doctrine, recommendation, or personal choice. Moreover, some Pastafarians argued, satire and parody themselves are or could be a religious practice or an integral part of a religion such as Pastafarianism, and the government has no right to decide which beliefs should be taken seriously and which should not, and that it is only up to the individual believers themselves to decide which elements of their religion to take seriously, and to what degree.