OAKLAND -- Leaders of the Nation Of Islam Saturday denied any role in the violent late night attacks on two liquor stores by well-dressed black men in suits and ties and condemned Oakland police for 'religious profiling' for inferring that they did.

At a Saturday press conference, Minister Tony Muhammad -- the Nation of Islam's West Coast leader -- said after reviewing videotapes of the attacks that were played on local media outlets, his group had determined that their members were not responsible.

"In the recent incident of two liquor stores here in the Oakland being vandalized, I'm here to make the official statement … after careful review of the recent news footage of the individuals involved in the actions against the liquor stores and merchants in Oakland -- we have concluded these individuals are not -- nor ever have been -- members of the Nation of Islam…or of any affiliated mosque or study groups in this area."

"These individuals we do not know."

Tony Muhammad said his group had met with the Yamenie American Merchants Association -- who count the owners of the two vandalized stores among its membership -- to "explain our position."

As for the Oakland police, the Black Muslim leader had some harsh words.

"We would like to send out to the Oakland Police Department of whom we know that one of their spokesman sort of -- we feel -- painted a brush of racial as well as religious profiling against the Nation of Islam."

"In this climate of anti-Moslem sentiment, we are saying that all citizens and those in law enforcement should be careful how you paint the brush over any religious group. Just because men dressed in suit and ties (in the attacks)…It doesn't mean that all black men in suit and ties are gang members, thugs or nor do we vandalize store merchants."

There was no immediate response from the Oakland police who -- according to Deputy Chief Howard Jordan earlier in the week -- were looking into the incidents as hate crimes because most of the businesses are owned by Arabs or Arab-Americans, and the suspects told the clerks not to sell liquor to black people.

On Wednesday night, a gang of vandals strolled into two Oakland corner liquor stores and unleashed a violent attack, terrorizing the clerks, smashing displays and coolers with iron pipes.

The brazen attacks were captured on videotape and thieves seemed not to care that their pictures were being recorded as they looked right into the cameras.

Oakland police have begun a search for the gang of 8-12 young men. But for one clerk, those terrifying moments will not soon be forgotten.

"They just jumped on me -- started punching me," the clerk told KTVU not wanting to give his identity.

"But when you come with baseball bats, and I don't know if you got guns because you have your hands in your pockets… breaking our store apart… it took hard work, we are here 18 hours a day… working here to establish a business to feed our families, and they do this to us, it's not fair."

The clerk said his family was in the back room, waiting for him to close down the store so they could travel to a relative's home for Thanksgiving. He said the violent attack has traumatized his children.

The attacks began around 11:30 a.m. with two stores targeted -- the New York Market on 34th and Market and the other -- San Pablo Liquor Market on 23rd and San Pablo Ave.

The men strolled into the stores, walked around a while and then turned on the clerks telling them to -- "stop poisoning our neighborhoods." Then the violence turned to the liquor bottles and cans stocked both on shelves and in the coolers.

There was no immediate estimate on damages and no serious injuries were reported.