WOODLAND HILLS >> They had built a Muslim sanctuary carved from marble and stone that was strong enough to last 10,000 years.

But the Mohammedi Center in Woodland Hills did not become an official mosque of the Dawoodi Bohra until their holy leader arrived Saturday from half a world away to inaugurate it. His reception from a thousand kneeling faithful was deafening.

“This is your outpouring of love — mohabbat — that my father taught you,” said His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, the 53rd Dai al-Mutlaq to inherit the spiritual throne of the ancient Shi’a sect based in Mumbai, India. “And you see my love for you.”

For the small San Fernando Valley Dawoodi Bohra congregation of mostly Indian-born professionals, their first mosque in Los Angeles meant they were an immigrant community come of age.

• VIDEO: His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin Opens the door for worship.

Fifteen years in the planning and seven years in the making, the $6.5 million Mohammedi Center hovered on a hill above Platt and Burbank avenues, its minaret soaring toward sunny cloud-filled skies.

But three years after completing their mosque, or masjid , its 120 families still had to pray in the dinner hall.

It wasn’t until after their holy leader emerged from a Rolls Royce on Saturday that their magnificent masjid of Greek marble, Honduran mahogany and Jerusalem gold stone could serve as a Dawoodi Bohra house of prayer.

And pray they did: Hundreds of bearded men dressed in white with embroidered gold caps below; hundreds of women in resplendent shawls looking from a second-floor gallery above; and scores of brightly clad children clustered around the pedestal for their berobed leader.

Each laughed or cried or held up cell phone cameras as the 68-year-old royal head of the Dawoodi Bohra, who inherited its spiritual throne last year upon the death of his father at 102, recited prayers in a lilting baritone, in a dialect of Gujarati laced with Arabic.

“God is great!” his followers cried during their leader’s nearly three hour call-and-response sermon. “Long live His Holiness!”

“You have fulfilled our dreams!” cried Amil Behlul Zakiuddin, imam of the 18,000-square-foot masjid, a nod to its Fatimi forebears of 10th century Egypt. “We are waiting for you.”

• PHOTO: Inaugural ceremony opens Mohammedi Center Mosque in Woodland Hills

It was two generations ago that 10,000 Dawoodi Bohra, devotees of Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, Saifuddin’s father, began immigrating to U.S. cities.

Be loyal to the countries you live in, he had told them. Spread peace and harmony to the world.

The Dawoodi Bohra, who trace their roots to the Fatimid Caliphate that once spanned the Arab world, now number a million members worldwide. Known for its religious tolerance of other faiths, the entrepreneurial Shi’a Muslim sect also values education, medicine, philanthropy and preservation of ancient landmarks.

On Friday, its latest spiritual leader first stepped onto U.S. soil, where he was scheduled to inaugurate the Woodland Hills mosque, then move on to bless new masjids in Orange County and Bakersfield.

During an early visit to the Mohammedi Center, he accepted a U.S. flag courtesy of Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks, which once flew over the Capitol. In a speech before local officials, he strongly urged his U.S. followers to be loyal and engaged American citizens.

By Saturday, devotees had come from far and wide to hear His Holiness’ call for harmony.

“What’s special for us, as Americans, was his first gesture in his first address on American soil: patriotism, loyalty and being active in the community in which you live,” said Mufaddal Ezzy, 35, of Fremont. “I had tears in my eyes.”

“This is a momentous occasion,” added Aziz Poonawalla, 41, a sheikh, research scientist and self-proclaimed cheesehead from Madison, Wisc. “This masjid will serve as the nerve center — a living breathing entity for the Dawoodi Bohra community in Los Angeles. It’s grandeur inspires us to be better Muslims.”

Mansoor and Qahera Ghatila, who are expecting their first child, were eager to get a glimpse of His Holiness. “I’m very excited,” said Mansoor, 29, of Chatsworth, an account executive at Realtor.com. “This new masjid really helps this community get together.

“We are one.”