Interesting rationale...
Concern about Shahar Peer's well-being led Dubai to make the decision. “We do not wish to politicize sports, but we have to be sensitive to recent events in the region and not alienate or put at risk the players and the many tennis fans of different nationalities that we have here in the U.A.E.,” said the statement, read to reporters by the tournament director, Salah Tahlak.

A statement from the tournament organizer, Dubai Duty Free, said Peer’s “presence would have antagonized our fans”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/sports/tennis/18tennis.html?ref=sports

Or this...
As freshly strung racket strings pummeled defenseless balls Sunday, a more sinister tension was striking at the heart of women’s tennis.The show went on in Dubai but with Middle East politics as its top-ranked headline, with a player taken from the draw for the crime of being from the wrong country.....
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/16/sports/tennis/16araton.html?fta=y