It's no secret that Zayn Malik's every move and opinion was held under strict scrutiny during his time as a member of One Direction. And while he's since left, the global pop star still keeps some of his personal beliefs under wraps, and that includes his Muslim faith. Zayn has made it a point to avoid expressing his religious views in public, though he's open to changing that in the future.
"Who knows? There may be a time where I feel like I have something to say about a certain topic and I’m educated enough and armed with the exact information I need before I make a statement that doesn’t offend anybody. Then I will do that," Zayn says in his new Complex cover story. Still, the 23-year-old artist realizes his words on the subject could rub people the wrong way. "It’s very hard to make any sort of statement that doesn’t offend somebody. I don’t want to throw stones out of a river that’s already fucking crazy. You know what I’m saying? It’s doing its thing by itself. I don’t need to put any input in there. I’ll just leave everything to itself."
His concerns also stem from the current sociopolitical landscape in 2016, and presidential candidate Donald Trump in particular, who previously put out a call to ban Muslims from entering the United States. "I see everything. I see the political thing. I see the Trump thing. I see it on the news. They are saying, 'Does this mean Zayn Malik has to leave America?' These things are always there. I see what’s going on, but I would never be the person that will make some sort of statement. I never want to make anybody biased towards anything."
"I could have an opinion, but that’s my opinion," he adds. "That’s the main thing for me. I don’t want to influence anybody’s brain in any sort of way."
His solo debut album, Mind of Mine, will be released March 25 on RCA Records. Read Zayn's full cover story here and purchase the April/May issue here.
