At a conference last Thursday Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoğlu commented on German President Gauck's visit to Turkey: "If the German president says he is concerned about Turkey's future based on some misconceptions, we have the right to say that we are concerned about Germany's future due to the existence of neo-Nazi groups. If we really want to be concerned, we should be concerned about the internalized racism on European streets, Islamophobia, the Turkish families whose houses were setablaze and the insults written on the walls of prayer rooms".The emphasis on Islamophobia in the minister's words is noteworthy. This issue was also discussed in a conference I attended last Thursday titled "Perceptions and Image of Muslim Women in Europe and the Impact on Turkey's EU Membership Process." The conference, hosted by UKADER (The International Women and Family Association) at Marmara University, was well attended. The reason that such a conference was held in the first place is hidden between Davutoğlu's words: "To be concerned about..."Unfortunately, the global economic crisis that is still having negative effects on the European economy recently caused an increase in instances of racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia across Europe. This situation also undermines discussions of multiculturalism, pluralism and diversity in the European public. "The failure of multiculturalism" has become a common expression, yet such a perspective is making Europe's already unhealthy perception of Turkey even worse, setting unproductive grounds for Turkey's EU targets. Of course, the group most influenced by such negative perceptions is women who wear the headscarf, as they are the most visible representation in the public sphere.Muslim women, who have struggled to exist in various spheres of life and succeeded in becoming more visible in recent days, have become the main target of rising trends in Islamophobia, racism and xenophobia in Europe. Some countries even enacted legislation banning the burqa and face veil, limiting the freedom of Muslim women. As a result, the German public, which already has serious problems with Turks living in the country, has grown more biased against Turkey and therefore against Turkey's EU membership process. Last Thursday at the UKADER conference, much discussion was made of how Islamophobic perceptions are the basis for this anti-Turkey sentiment and are channeled through the image of Muslim women. One of the overwhelming conclusions of the conference was the need for increased awareness of the biased attitudes and policies Muslim women face in different spheres of social life due to the rising power of Islamophobia and xenophobia in EU countries, and serious concern is justified as per Davutoğlu's words.Despite all these negative mutual perceptions, negotiations between Turkey and the EU are ongoing. Even if Turkey fulfills the required conditions for membership, it will still face a serious obstacle, namely the negative perception of Turkey in Europe. Particularly the image Turkey has in some key EU countries may cause serious prejudices in discussions about Turkey and voting for the country's full membership in the context of ongoing EU accession negotiations.EU authorities who have concerns over the state of liberties in Turkey should also be concerned about increasing biases in their own countries if we are to achieve a point of mutual understanding.