ONE Direction singer Zayn Malik has been accused of "enticing jihad" and "pimping Islam to young female fans in an outrageous online attack by a prominent US conservative.

Malik, who has a Pakistani father and an English mother, came under fire from influential right wing blogger Debbie Schlussel as the band tours the US.

In one of her blogs, Schlussel warned parents to "keep their daughters away” from the boyband, claiming Zayn, 19, had posted tweets for fans about Ramadan and Allah.

"The scary thing is that millions of girls in America and around the world are infatuated with the members of One Direction, including Malik.

"He knows the power he has over these mindless girls and is using that influence to preach the Islamic faith. It's dangerous."

She even attacked Zayn for wearing a keffiyeh - a cotton scarf - which she called "official garb of Islamic terrorism".

"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."

US playwright Wajahat Ali rejected Schlussel's claims, saying: "What we have seen in the last 10 years is that you can be an artist who is Muslim and can be practicing and doing art that is inspired by your beliefs, but does not have to be overtly Islamic or using religious language.

"A guy like Zayn Malik can really help open those minds and convey that as a generation we are moving ahead."

Originally published as One Direction's Zayn 'pimps for Islam'