Who is Alim Nassor from Lucifer's Hammer and what is their importance?

Alim Nassor is a black man who robs houses after the owners have left the city for fear of "hammer fever." Alim and his gang are highly successful, taking televisions and other electronics. They later find that these things are worthless and dump most of them to make room for items that really are important to their survival. Alim dies of mustard gas poisoning in a battle against the stronghold.