Two Muslim groups in Indonesia and
Malaysia have announced a boycott of three American companies over
their support of LGBT rights.
Together the groups, Malaysia's Perkasa
and Indonesia's Muhammadiyah, represent nearly 30.5 million Muslims.
Perkasa has called on the Malaysian
government to revoke the trading licenses of Starbucks, Microsoft and
Apple because of their support for LGBT rights and same-sex marriage.
Anwar Abbas of Muhammadiyah told
Reuters that Starbucks's support for the LGBT community was “not in
line” with Indonesian values.
“If Starbucks only does business,
then fine. But don't bring ideology here,” Abbas
said.
Starbucks responded in a statement,
saying that it is a “global company” that strives “to be
respectful of local customs and traditions while staying true to
Starbucks' long-standing values and purpose.”
A “Dump Starbucks” campaign was
launched in 2012 in the United States by the National Organization
for Marriage (NOM), an outspoken opponent of marriage equality. In
promoting its boycott, NOM claimed that Starbucks had “declared a
culture war on all people of faith who believe that the institution
of marriage as one man and one woman is worth preserving.” As the
boycott fizzled in the United States, organizers took their message
abroad, running online ad campaigns in the Middle East, Indonesia and
China.
(Related: Lady
Gaga's gay anthem “Born this Way” labeled offensive in Malaysia.)