THE SPY WHO DUMPED ME

Muslim Man Says He Posed as Ultra-Orthodox Spy to Marry ‘Love of His Life’

When his new father-in-law got suspicious, he told his new wife that he was “on a mission” for the National Security Agency. Then the feds got involved.

The honeymoon phase of marriage ended early for a New York City couple when it was revealed that the husband lied about his religion, pretending to be a Hasidic Jew and a U.S. spy. The New York Post reports “Eliyah” Hawila, a 23-year-old Lebanese-born Muslim man, met the woman, identified only as “Sally,” on a Jewish dating website, and they recently wed in a lavish ceremony in Brooklyn. But Sally’s father is said to have grown suspicious of Hawila’s story, and turned to the internet. The dad ultimately determined that the groom was actually Ali Hassan Hawila, a member of a Shiite family from southern Lebanon, after contacting and confirming with his father—his new in-law—according to an interview the younger Hawila gave to Israeli news outlet Kan 11 TV.

When Sally confronted Hawila, he said he spun up another tangled web of lies and insisted he was actually a U.S. spy for the National Security Agency—one that was “on a mission.” That managed to trigger a whole new problem, as the family’s suspicions led to a call to the FBI and a subsequent Homeland Security investigation, in which Hawila allegedly admitted to investigators: “Sir, I give you my permission to spy on all my phone calls, I am not affiliated with anybody.”

Hawila and Sally’s wedding was subsequently annulled. The bride reportedly moved to a safe house during the investigation. A devastated Hawila told Kan TV that though he can’t blame her for tapping out of the mess, but he doesn’t want their story to end. “I want her to know she is the love of my life,” he said.