A three-page sheet of objections to the fifth draft of Paradise was issued by the Council on American Islamic Relations Ohio chapter.

Among the objections:

The subject matter is not appropriate for kids and cannot be adequately dealt with in a 50-minute class period.

There is no follow-up discussion planned to help kids deal with the subject matter or expose them to accurate information about the Palestinian conflict or about Islam and Muslims.

All Muslim characters are negatively portrayed.

All Israeli characters are positively portrayed.

The script bypasses a real examination of the effects of 54 years of Israeli war, occupation and oppression on Palestinian children.

There is a character named "Kafir," which means one who has rejected God; no one has the right to call anyone a kafir unless that person has openly declared rejection of God.

The Muslim girl wears the Muslim head scarf when she does the suicide bombing, thereby sending the message that Muslim women who wear the scarf are terrorists.

The name "Fatima" is objectionable because it is a common name, the name of one of the most loved and respected women in Muslim history and a name used in a pejorative sense by Israelis in regard to other Israelis who work with Palestinians for peace.

The play portrays suicide as an Islamic tradition with the purpose of going to paradise.

The play ... promotes hatred, divides our community at large and will pollute the minds of the youth for generations to come.

Karen Dabdoub said Monday that the "No. 1" objection by her citizens' group was that Paradise would be produced in schools.

Some of the objectionable material has been removed from a new draft (No. 6), but, says Dabdoub, "There are new, different ones they've added in."