Former One Direction star, Zayn Malik, has revealed that he was detained for three hours when entering the United States with his bandmates because he is a Muslim. The singer went on to say that he ‘still identifies with the religion’ despite that fact that he is a practising Muslim. He also added that he did not want to be defined by his cultural background.
Zayn said that when travelling to the United States something flagged in their security systems. ‘First, they said that I’d been randomly selected, and then they said it was something to do with my name, it was flagging something on their system.’ He added ‘When I landed (in America), it was like a movie. They kept me there for three hours, questioning me about all kinds of crazy stuff.’
He said that the experience was very distressing for a young man who was travelling to the country for the first time. ‘I was 17, my first time in America, jet-lagged off the plane, confused. The same thing happened the next time too.’ He went on to express his feelings on radicalisation saying that he doesn’t understand where it comes from and the he wishes there were more peace and love.
Since leaving the band, Zayn has gone on to have huge success as a solo artist and wad the first British male to go straight to the top of the Billboard charts in the United States.