Excerpt:
The House of Representatives has come out against a proposal by rightwing political parties to ban minarets.
A majority also rejected calls by the centre-left to declare the people's initiative invalid. The other parliamentary chamber, the Senate, still has to discuss the issue.
The initiative, launched by the rightwing Swiss People's Party and a small ultra-conservative Christian party, was handed in with 113,540 valid votes last year. It will be put to a nationwide vote at a later date.
Muslim organisations have expressed their concern about the initiative, which has been rejected by the cabinet.