English version of the slogan at a rally in Tahrir Square.Hundreds of thousands of anti-Assad protesters parade and shout "Ash-shab yurid isqat an-nizam" slogans in the Assi square, during the Siege of Hama on 22 July 2011
The chant was raised at the protests in Bahrain.[7][9][10]Ash-shab yurid isqat an-nizam has been used frequently in protests across Yemen.[11][12] The slogan was used in rallies across Libya at the beginning of the 2011 revolt.[13] In March 2011, a group of youths under the age of 15 were arrested in Dera'a in southern Syria, after having sprayed ejak el door ya doctor graffiti, translating to "it is your turn doctor [referring to Al-Assad's regime]. Their arrests sparked the uprising in Syria.[14][15] The slogan was also used frequently in Sudan throughout the protests.[16]
In Jordan, a youth group named "24 March" used the slogan ash-shaʻb yurīd islah an-niẓām ("the people want to reform the system").[17] 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.[18]
In Lebanon, the slogan has been used in protests against that country's sectarian political system.[19] In the Lebanese protests, an-nizam ("the regime") did not refer to the sectarian political order as such, but rather the government.[20] In Palestine, a variation of the slogan, Ash-shaʻb yurīd inhāʼ al-inqisām (الشعب يريد إنهاء الانقسام, "the people want the division to end"), emerged in protests calling for the two main factions Fatah and Hamas to settle their differences.[21] A parody of the slogan has been used by Bashar al-Assad's supporters in Syria as ash-shaʻb yurīd Bashār al-Asad (Arabic: الشعب يريد بشار الاسد, lit. 'the people want Bashar al-Assad').[22] Another parody of the slogan has been used by King Hamad's loyalists in Bahrain as ash-shaʻb yurīd isqāṭ al-Wifāq (Arabic: الشعب يريد إسقاط الوفاق, lit. 'the people want to bring down Al-Wefaq'), referring to the main opposition party of Bahrain, Al-Wefaq.[23]