Who is Abdulrahman Zeitoun from Zeitoun and what is their importance?

Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a Syrian-American, was known by his American friends and customers in New Orleans simply as Zeitoun since his first name proved too difficult to pronounce. As young boys, Zeitoun and his older brother Ahmad fished at night for sardines with the village fishermen. Zeitoun's father was deceased so Zeitoun and Ahmad turned over all their earnings to their fragile mother to help support the family.

Ahmad became a sailor while Zeitoun stayed in the family village of Jableh and became a construction worker. But his mother sensed Zeitoun wasn't happy and yearned to venture out into the world. She asked Ahmad to get Zeitoun a position on his ship and allow him to go on their next journey. Ahmad complied and soon Zeitoun was a sailor, a career he stayed with for the next ten years.

Eventually Zeitoun made his way to America and settled in New Orleans. It was there that he met his wife, Kathy, who was an American divorcee with one child. That she had converted to Islam was a plus for Zeitoun. The moment he saw Kathy he knew she was the one for him. The couple fell and love and married. At the time the Category 5 hurricane, Katrina, hit New Orleans the couple had three more children and a thriving painting business as well as the owners of multiple properties that that they managed.

Kathy left with the children for higher ground when Katrina hit but Zeitoun refused to leave. He stayed behind to watch over his properties and, as it turned out, help people stranded by the floods. He used an old aluminum canoe he had in the garage to paddle around the neighbor hood handing out food and giving people rides to safety. But no good deed goes unpunished! FEMA's hired guns weren't very bright and took Zeitoun for a looter, threw him into jail and stripped him of his civil rights. But Zeitoun was a strong person who just became stronger. He saw it through and instead of becoming angry or bitter, he appreciated his lot in life even more. He realized that a few bad apples don't necessarily spoil the batch.