Zayn Malik has been accused of trying to convert teenage One Direction fans to Islam through his Twitter posts.
American blogger Debbie Schlussel - who describes herself as a conservative political commentator - says Zayn 'pimped' the religion by asking if any of his followers were fasting for Ramadan and Tweeting a common declaration of faith.
'the scary thing is that millions of girls in America and around the world are infatuated with the members of One Direction, including Malik,' writes Debbie.
'He's no dummy. He knows the power he has over these mindless girls and is using that influence to preach the Islamic faith to them and try to convert them. It's dangerous.
'Keep your daughters away from Zayn Malik's enticing jihad. With the boy band One Direction, it's all about pimping Islam amid the deceptive visage of angelic, effeminate boys in a band.'
Debbie also slammed Zayn, 19, for his Arabic tattoos and for wearing a cotton scarf called a keffiyeh, which she describes as 'the official garb of Islamic terrorism'.
But members of the Muslim community have stood up for Zayn - whose mum is English and dad is British Pakistani - and praised him for embracing his religion.
'I would say all the power to him to be respectful to his faith and be proud of it,' says Zudhi Jasser, an American Muslim who frequently warns of Islamic radicalisation.
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