He writes on Persian and Arabic literature and contemporary history of Iran, Turkey, the Balkans and Afghanistan.
Algar remains an active scholar and his research has concentrated on the Islamic history of the Perso-Turkish world, with particular emphasis on Iranian Shi'ism during the past two centuries and the Naqshbandi Sufi order.
with first-class honors in Oriental Languages (Arabic and Persian) at Trinity College, Cambridge, he was offered a scholarship to Tehran University in Iran, where he planned to work for his Ph.D.
"[10] Algar is described as "a seasoned scholar who knows his Islamic theology and modern Middle Eastern history".
[16] Not satisfied with the university's response, the students turned to the Associated Students of UC Berkeley, which unanimously passed a resolution entitled "A Bill Against Hate Speech and in Support of Reprimand for Prof. Algar" on March 10, 1999.