When Mos Def, otherwise known as Yasiin Bey, wanted to board a flight to Ethiopia last weekend, he was arrested because, well, he was using a World Passport. According to Bey’s representative, Mos Def doesn’t think he has done anything wrong:

He wanted to start using the World Passport because it’s more representative of his personal ideals and philosophies. Bey, whose lyrics often touch on issues of social justice, has been disheartened by the way police have treated young black men in the United States.  That, and just the whole idea of the world as being a unified place a place without borders or boundaries made Bey prefer the World Passport over his American one.

One of Bey’s recent projects reflects that belief: He has helped build A Country Called Earth, a website that uses art, writing, and music to challenge conventional ideas about borders and nationalities.

But what is this World Passport? Well, it’s more of an ideal than an actual document, but around 180 countries in the world have recognised it, even if they haven’t publicly claimed so. Here’s a little history thanks to Foreign Policy:

The World Service Authority, which issues the passports, was started by Garry Davis, a U.S. Army flier who manned a bomber aircraft during World War II. In 1948, he renounced his American citizenship to signal his disenchantment with the ways nation-states encouraged war. From then until his death in 2013, Davis remained stateless, and spent decades advocating for a world government that would abandon borders to promote peace. Today, there are some 750,000 people who hold World Passports, though many of them live in developing countries where they had difficulty obtaining other official documents.

But the weird thing is, South Africa has been one of those countries that has recognised the passport:

Among those that have previously recognized the documents is South Africa, which issued another World Passport holder a visa as recently as August. Gallup added that although Mos Def applied for the passport himself, other American celebrities also hold World Passports, though many of them are honorary and were issued without being requested. Among them? Oprah Winfrey and even President Barack Obama, who Gallup said was mailed one in November 2008.

For around R500 you too can get a World Passport. I mean, why not? All you have to do is send a few documents along with a completed form found on this website and Voila! You’re a citizen of the world.

Who knows, this might just start something.

[source: worldservice&foreignpolicy]