Ash-shaʻb yurīd isqāṭ an-niẓām is a political slogan associated with the Arab Spring. The slogan first emerged during the Tunisian Revolution. The chant echoed at Avenue Habib Bourguiba in Tunis for weeks. The slogan also became used frequently during the 2011 Egyptian revolution. It was the most frequent slogan, both in graffiti and in chants in rallies, during the revolution in Egypt. The chant was raised at the protests in Bahrain. Ash-shab yurid isqat an-nizam has been used frequently in protests across Yemen. The slogan was used in rallies across Libyaat the beginning of the 2011 revolt. In March 2011, a group of youths under the age of 15 were arrested in Dera'a in southern Syria, after having sprayed ash-shab yurid isqat an-nizam graffiti. Their arrests sparked the uprising in Syria. The slogan was also used frequently in Sudan throughout the protests. In Jordan, a youth group named "24 March" used the slogan ash-shaʻb yurīd islah an-niẓām. However, the slogan later changed to ash-shab yurid isqat an-nizam in November 2012, when the government imposed a hike in the price of fuel. In Lebanon the slogan has been used in protests against that country's sectarian political system. In the Lebanese protests, an-nizam referred to the sectarian political order as such, rather the government. In Palestine, a variation of the slogan, Ash-shaʻb yurīd inhāʼ al-inqisām, emerged in protests calling for the two main factions Fatah and Hamas to settle their differences. A parody of the slogan has been used by Bashar al-Assad's supporters in Syria as ash-shaʻb yurīd Bashār al-Asad. Another parody of the slogan has been used by King Hamad's loyalist in Bahrain as ash-shaʻb yurīd isqāṭ al-Wifāq, referring to the main opposition party of Bahrain, Al-Wefaq.
Variants
Syrian Islamists have appropriated the slogan for their own purposes, altering it to “The People want the declaration of Jihad”, as well as "The Ummah wants an Islamic Caliphate". In post-Mubarak Egypt, given the fact that the military government only partially met the demands of the revolutionaries, with the dreaded state of emergency remaining in place, some protesters started using a somewhat different version of the slogan: The peoplewant to bring down the field marshal, referring to Field MarshalMohamed Tantawi, the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.
