Fans react as former One Direction star Zayn Malik says he no longer considers himself Muslim: 'So disappointed'

His quotes about religion were tucked into a British Vogue interview in which he maybe, kinda confirmed the rumors that Taylor Swift has avoided the paparazzi by hiding in a suitcase, and he gushed about his romance with Gigi Hadid. But they were there, and they were different from what he’s said in the past.

“To be honest, I’ve never spoken publicly about what my religious beliefs are. I’m not professed to be a Muslim,” said Malik, 25, who was raised in the religion.

When asked if he would call himself a Muslim now, the Brit said, “No, I wouldn’t.”

“I believe whatever people’s religious beliefs are is between them and whoever or whatever they’re practicing,” he said. “For me, I have a spiritual belief of there is a god. Do I believe there’s a hell? No.”

Malik said even talking about faith “becomes a religious f***ing debacle of philosophers.”

“I just want to keep it between me and whatever I believe. I feel like that makes me move through life in a nice way. If I behave well, I will get treated well. That’s it,” the former One Direction star said. “I don’t believe you need to eat a certain meat that’s been prayed over a certain way, I don’t believe you need to read a prayer in a certain language five times a day. I don’t believe any of it. I just believe if you’re a good person everything is going to go right for you.”

Leaving his religion, Malik said, was “really easy” for him.

“With my mum and dad, they were always there to educate us — I did go to mosque, I did study Islam — but they gave us the option so you could choose for yourself,” he said.

Malik acknowledged that he’s happy to have built his life on the principles of Islam, and the interviewer noted that he spoke “softly and kindly” as they talked about the subject. Malik also said, “There’s definitely beautiful parts to every religion.”

As you can imagine, the comments sparked some backlash on social media.