A Muslim leader has called for a boycott on the American coffee chain Starbucks due to their pro-gay stand which could ruin the "religious and cultured" aspects of some Asian nations.

Anwar Abbas of Muhammadiyah, the second largest Muslim organisation in Indonesia, has called upon the government to revoke the license for Starbucks until they fall in line with the nation's ideology.

Speaking to Reuters, Abbas said: "If Starbucks only does business, then fine. But don't bring ideology here."

With the exception of the Aceh province, homosexuality is legal in all parts of Indonesia, which is a Muslim-majority nation. However, raids on LGBT households have increased in recent years.

Abbas added: "We as a nation clearly do not want our attitudes and character as a religious and cultured nation broken and messed up by their presence."

He also said that the government should rescind the license for the chain due to Howard Schultz's support for the LGBT community.

Schultz, who is the chairman of Starbucks, said that he and the company embraces diversity and that "not every decision is an economic decision. If you feel, respectfully, that you can get a higher return than the 38% you got last year, it's a free country. You can sell your shares in Starbucks and buy shares in another company."

The license to run Starbucks in the country is currently held by PT Sari Coffee Indonesia, and executives at the company said that they "always obey the prevailing regulations and appreciates the cultural values in Indonesia."

The coffee chain first opened in Indonesia back in 2002 and has 260 stores there.