Zayn Malik says he doesn't call himself a Muslim

British singer Zayn Malik has courted controversy for saying he doesn't call himself a Muslim.

Malik, formerly of popular boy band One Direction, told British Vogue that he's not "professed to be a Muslim."

"To be honest, I've never spoken publicly about what my religious beliefs are. I'm not professed to be a Muslim."

He also added that his religious beliefs were very personal and he wouldn't want to talk about it as he could get into trouble.

In his freewheeling interview, Malik also spoke about his supermodel girlfriend Gigi Hadid, and praised her for being organised.

“She’s super-organised and I’m really not,” he said. “It helps that she can get things together for me a little bit. I lean on her a lot.”

Malik and Hadid split up briefly earlier this year. But the duo soon reconciled.

His single Let Me was about Hadid and during an interview with Ryan Seacrest, he said he wanted to be with the model forever.

“I was in love, and I think that’s pretty evident,” the 25-year-old singer said. “I was aspiring to be in love with someone for the rest of my life and the rest of theirs, as we all do. Things change and we move forward in life. Times change, but that’s what I was thinking when I wrote it.”

“We go through experiences so we have memories and stories and things to write down and contemplate and think about,” Malik continued to Seacrest. “You get to really put your experience into something. It should be remembered forever.”